Minister of Religious Affairs Clarifies That Christmas Cakes WON’T Invalidate Halal Certificates

Responding to reports by news portals claiming otherwise, Minister Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad took to Twitter to clarify that halal-certified bakeries are allowed to produce items meant for non-Islamic religious celebration so long as they are not put up on display.

In his Twitter thread, Datuk Zulkifli explained that the Malaysian Halal Certification Procedure Manual (Domestic) 2020 has no clauses restricting food catered towards non-Islamic religious celebrations and that the Malaysian Halal Certification Procedure Manual (Domestic) 2020 only applies to shops with a JAKIM Halal certificate.

Ada sedikit salahfaham dalam isu ini.

Saya dimaklumkan, pihak Bahagian Pengurusan Halal JAKIM telah menghubungi wartawan berkenaan dan meminta utk artikel tersebut diperbaiki.

Rujuk di bawah ? https://t.co/S2m6l6mn2s

— ?? Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri (@drzul_albakri) December 24, 2020

“If shop B with JAKIM halal certificate makes a cake with a festive greeting on the cake for the purpose of display (display) in the premises, it is not allowed but if Shop B provides a cake ordered with a festive greeting on the cake, it is ALLOWED,” he writes.

He finishes off his tweets by hoping all Christians in Malaysia be blessed with peace, health, joy and wealth in the years to come.

Yesterday, reports were published claiming that Halal-certificates can be confiscated and turn invalid if a bakery bakes a cake with the words ‘Merry Christmas’, causing outrage among netizens.

This was after reports of an individual complaining that a local bakery refused to bake a Christmas cake, opting to write the words ‘Happy Holidays’ on it instead, started surfacing online.

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