Ponggal Oh Ponggal!

A top officer from the Education Ministry recently declared Ponggal as 'haram' for Muslims to participate in.

The letter issued by Education Ministry deputy director-general on Jan 13 referred to the declaration made at the 100th Meeting of the Shariah Panel of Experts from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), which in April 2019 decided on the conditions for Muslims participating in Ponggal festivities.

The declaration stated that since Ponggal is a religious celebration of the Hindu community, it is haram for Muslims to take part in the celebration.

Ever since the news went viral on social media, many Malaysian Hindus have pointed out that Ponggal is not a celebration for Hindu worshippers. Instead, it is a celebration for a bountiful harvest and prosperity to come. Ponggal, according to them, has nothing to do with religion.

In fact, as a predominantly Tamil festival, many Tamil Christians and Tamil Muslims in India celebrate it.

Pesta Kaamatan celebrated by the Dusuns and Kadazans in Sabah resembles Ponggal. As modern Kadazandusuns embrace religions such as Christianity and Islam, they retain their cultural practice, hence continue their tradition in celebrating Kaamatan while still keeping their faiths.

Even in a Kadazandusun community, which consists of people from different faiths, Pesta Kaamatan is celebrated together, without any problems.

Faith shaken by a non-religious cultural practice?

In Malaysia, there always seem to be attempts to confuse people between religion and cultural practice.

In 2017, an Islamic non-governmental organisation in Sabah called the Hidayah Centre Foundation, together with Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia, organised a Pesta Kaamatan to celebrate the harvest festival ‘the Islamic way’.

When photos of several women dressed in aurat-covering version of the traditional Kadazandusun costume during the ‘Kaamatan Islamik’ programme in Sabah got exposed, there were backlashes from Sabahans who are keen to separate culture from religion.

It seems to me some Muslims in Malaysia are really worried that the ‘akidah’ (faith) of their Muslim brothers and sisters would be shaken by cultural practices that they are determined to either label a non-religious culture as ‘haram’ for Muslims or to convert a non-religious culture into a ‘halal’ practice for Muslims.

What boggles my mind is this – while the Muslims who elect themselves as the protectors of the Islamic faith by declaring cultural practices as religious, hence stopping other Muslims from participating in festivals promoting unity in our country, they open their arms to welcoming non-Muslims to participate in Islamic religious practices.

Hypocrisy of Muslims

Maulidur Rasul is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad, a significant figure in Islam who is believed to be the last prophet that Allah sent to mankind.

And as we all know, Maulidur Rasul is purely a religious festival.

In Malaysia, religious talks and parades are organised in every level of society to celebrate this special day. In the state and national level, Maulidur Rasul awards are given to selected individuals, Muslims and non-Muslims.

Wait, let me repeat that. Awards are given annually in state and national level, to non-Muslims, in conjunction with Islamic religious event.

In 2019, social activist Lee Lam Thye (above) was the proud non-Muslim recipient of the national level Maulidur Rasul award. His award was presented by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

If you are wondering why Muslims have no qualms about including non-Muslims to participate in our religious celebrations while always trying to protect our Muslim brothers and sisters from participating in non-religious celebrations of our non-Muslim fellow Malaysians, I will tell you why.

It is because Muslims are hypocrites.

Power and control

In 2016, a representative from Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia, when commenting on the Maulidur Rasul celebration, said that it should not be a private affair but celebrated among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The representative even suggested that Muslims should use the religious celebration as a platform to invite non-Muslims to join in by taking them on a visit to a mosque and introducing them to the Prophet by talking about the man he was.

So you see, this isn’t about protecting Muslim’s faith nonsense. This is about power. This is about control. This is about breaking bridges. This is about building walls.

And for what it’s worth, while this technique had worked in the past, I don’t think it is working anymore. We Malaysians have now grown wiser to be easily fooled by those clowns.

So, go ahead and enjoy your Ponggal sweet rice, light up a lantern on Chinese New Year, break a coconut on Thaipusam, date your beloved on Valentine’s Day, wear a saree on Deepavali, roast a turkey on Thanksgiving or even dress up as Santa Claus on Christmas!

Whatever you do (or not do), the decision should be your own – because your faith is your responsibility.

Never let anyone tell you that you are less of a Muslim just because you are a true Malaysian.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini