MANY Muslims in Sarawak have been taking part in multi-cultural religious festivities with people from other faiths for decades without them becoming ‘less-Muslim’ or converting to other faiths, said a Muslim state minister.
Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Karim Hamzah said a recent proposal by a federal minister for official guidelines to dictate how gatherings involving Muslims and non-Muslims can be held does not reflect well on Muslims.
"I am glad that the Prime Minister has overturned the proposal made by the federal minister.
"If the guidelines were introduced, it would mean that we, Muslims are not mature enough in our faith … that we are afraid of being influenced by other faiths just by taking part in their events and celebrations.
"In Sarawak, we Muslims have been attending multi-racial events and multi-religious celebrations without us becoming ‘less Muslim’ or losing our faith.
"Our unity and harmony among all races and faiths has not jeopardised the Muslims in their faith," said the Sarawak Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts
Karim said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did the right thing by rejecting the proposal during the Cabinet meeting.
Yesterday, Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) secretary general Datuk Sebastian Ting said the state cannot allow itself to be dictated by any rules or guidelines governing how Muslims and non-Muslims can interact in any joint events as it is secular without any official religion.
Any move to impose any such guideline or rule as had been proposed recently by the federal minister is not applicable to Sarawak, said Ting who is state assemblyman for Piasau. – February 8, 2025
