Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Nasir breaks fast with guests at the Johor Baru Sikh Gurdwara Sahib May 28, 2019. — Picture courtesy of the Johor Baru Parliament Office

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin joined the Sultan of Johor and others in criticising Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Nasir for attending a fast-breaking event at a Sikh Gurdwara last week.

The Umno vice president said Akmal’s decision to break his fast at the house of worship of another religion was ill considered and warned that such actions could easily set a precedent that could be manipulated, misinterpreted, or abused.

He advised Akmal to be careful not to be seen as inviting other Muslims to practices outside the religion’s norms.

“Though his intentions to invite Muslims en masse to enter and attend the temple of another religion was in the spirit of goodwill, he should not set aside our religious demands especially during the month of Ramadan that calls for the pursuit of mosques, and not houses of worship of other religions.

“If other religions are open and welcome Islamic practices in their places of worship today, is the Johor Baru MP ready, for example, to allow space for Christmas, or Thaipusam, or other religious celebrations to be held at a mosque one day, even on the basis of nurturing goodwill,” he questioned in his statement.

Khaled’s comments come in response to Johor PKR chief Hassan Abdul Karim who defended Akmal by saying the MP had not violated any Islamic laws and only attended the event after performing his prayers at a mosque.

Akmal had attracted criticism after he had agreed to attend the breaking fast event, organised by the Johor Baru Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, some branded him as crazy (gila) while others pointed out no Muslim ever broke their fasts at a gurdwara.

Khaled today also agreed with Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s recent statement condemning Akmal’s actions, saying such activities opened opportunities for Muslims to be proselytised and could lead to other Islamic religious activities being held at non-Islamic houses of worship.

“The Sultan of Johor was right when he, as the Johor’s religious leader, said the mixing of our religious practices and traditions with celebrations of goodwill at a non-Islamic religious house was some that is embarrassing and could lead to slander.

“His highness’ advice, even though not a Fatwa, has the wisdom that all the PKR leaders has failed to understand, including the Pasir Gudang MP,” Khaled said in the statement.

Khaled added the recent breaking fast celebrations at the gurdwaras in Johor Baru failed to achieve its objective of spreading goodwill, and had instead caused slander and offended the conscience of Muslims who are, on average, mainly conservatives,” he said.

Akmal had defended his decision to attend the breaking fast event last week, saying it was a multicultural event and that attending the event did not make him a lesser Muslim or erode his faith in Islam.