Jakim says no ban on Christmas cake greetings after bakery's circular

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has confirmed that there are no restrictions on halal certificate holders writing festive greetings on cakes for customers to take home.

This came after an internal circular from a cake house told staff not to write “Merry Christmas” or “X'Mas” on their cakes and instead provide a “Season’s Greetings” message, for fear of violating the company's halal certification.

In a statement on social media, Jakim said this issue was previously addressed on Dec 25, 2020 and Nov 1, 2023.

“Once again we would like to inform you that there is no obstacle for Malaysian Halal Verification Certificate (SPHM) holders to write any form of celebration greetings on cakes and other similar items.

“Therefore, for all SPHM holders, you are advised to refer to Jakim or the state Islamic department first if there is any confusion regarding Malaysian halal certification,” it said.

In its earlier statement on Nov 1, it said: “Jakim stresses that festive greetings are allowed on products if they were not made to be displayed in the premises that have the halal certification or on products marked with the halal logo.

“This is because there are no provisions about the celebration of any festivals including Islamic celebrations stated in the Malaysian Halal Certification Procedure Manual (Domestic) 2020.”

Last night, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said there is no ban on writing festival greetings on cakes sold by halal certificate holders for customers.

“I have instructed the halal department to issue an immediate statement which explains the matter clearly, especially to halal certificate holders.

“I have also asked them to produce a video on the issue to ensure everyone understands,” Na’im (above) added.

Bakery claims it was following orders

In the cake shop’s circular dated Dec 14 signed by the bakery’s operations manager, the justification for the decision was supposedly to comply with Jakim’s halal certification requirements, indicating that the bakery’s management had misunderstood.

Berry’s Cake House operations manager Daniel Teoh reportedly said that the bakery had no choice but to adhere to the ruling or risk losing its halal certificate.

Following the issuance of the circular, he said the bakery has been accused of being racist, but it is not.

“We are merely following orders. We are not simply doing this. What would happen if they (Jakim) suddenly audited us? They would revoke our halal certificate,” he said, just before Na’im’s clarification.

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