The greeting " Salam 1Malaysia " is gaining popularity.

It emanated from the "1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now" slogan mooted by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

It is now being uttered at public functions and by newscasters at the outset and the end of radio or television news bulletins.

However, certain quarters claimed that the greeting was a blasphemy and against the Prophet's practice and Islamic teachings as there was no specific reply like " waalaikumussalam " to " assalamualaikum " (greeting among Muslims) and " salam sejahtera " to " salam sejahtera ".