Lunar New Year nothing to do with religion: Malaysian foreign minister

‘We have celebrated together for decades. This tradition must continue’, Saifuddin said after a lawyer took aim at a school over its ‘religious’ decorations

He claimed the school had gone overboard with the festoons, purportedly in an attempt to convert its Muslim students

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A lion dance performance during an event at a shopping centre for the upcoming Lunar New Year celebration in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:13pm, 8 Jan 2020Updated: 8:28pm, 17 Feb 2020

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on Wednesday (Jan 8) reminded Malaysians that their cultural diversity is to be celebrated instead of letting it divide them.

Saifuddin took to Twitter in response to a Malay party official’s claim on Tuesday that a public school in Puchong, Selangor, had gone overboard with decorations for the upcoming Lunar New Year, purportedly in an attempt to convert its Muslim students.

“Among Malaysia’s strengths is its people – diverse in race, culture and religion, living in peace and harmony. This needs to be strengthened in the spirit of peaceful coexistence.

“CNY has nothing to do with religion. We have celebrated together for decades. This tradition must continue,” Saifuddin tweeted.

The cultural festival is a two-day public holiday in Malaysia, where roughly 30 per cent of its population is ethnically Chinese. This year, Lunar New Year falls on January 25 and 26.

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