Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) said it is absurd to disallow hotels and restaurants with halal certification from putting up Christmas decorations during the festive season.
Its Chairman, Datuk Seri Winston Liaw, said Malaysians live in a multiracial and multicultural country, a reality firmly enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“This implementation will not only hurt the tourism industry but also divide national unity. We must not allow this to happen in East Malaysia, especially in Sabah.
Sabahans and Sarawakians must protect and preserve our beautiful culture and harmony,” he said.
He was referring to a statement by the Melaka Religious Bureau instructing hotels and restaurants with halal certification not to display Christmas decorations.
However, it was later clarified that the restriction only applied to displaying worship-related items (see separate story). It did not specify whether the items being referred to were images or symbols.
“Halal certification is meant to guide the process of food preparation, not to interfere with how a premises should be designed or decorated during festive seasons,” Liaw said.
He noted that Kedah and Kelantan did not implement such regressive policies, questioning why Melaka, a tourism city, would choose to do so.
Parti Warisan Deputy Information Chief and Sri Tanjong assemblyman Justin Wong said sensitive issues should not be misinterpreted or conflated in a multiracial and multicultural country like Malaysia.
He was commenting on the move by Melaka Islamic religious authorities to prohibit halal hotels and restaurants from displaying Christmas decorations.
He said such issues must be approached with mutual respect and tolerance, as practised in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Both states have greater ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, yet the level of openness and acceptance here far surpasses many other parts of the country,” he said.
Justin said Sabah and Sarawak remained the best examples of harmonious coexistence, where despite wider diversity, people continued to live peacefully through mutual respect and understanding, values upheld by successive governments.
He said this harmony was evident in everyday life, where people of different races walk together, followers of different faiths visit one another, and those from diverse cultural backgrounds can sit together to share a meal.
“This is the true uniqueness of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said. Justin said Malaysia was founded as a plural society, but that since independence, the spirit of unity had weakened due to divisive narratives.
“Extreme nationalism prioritises narrow interests and is often driven by hatred and hostility. Such thinking damages racial harmony, erodes mutual respect and creates distrust,” he said.
Justin said a healthy racial and religious identity should focus on self-development and peace-building.
“We should strengthen confidence in our own culture and competitiveness, not by stigmatising others, inciting hatred or suppressing minorities,” he said, adding that a healthy national identity was crucial for social unity and national stability.”
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