Speaking to FMT about the suggestion put forth by Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin that Malaysia Airlines give its flight attendants the choice to don the hijab and refuse serving alcohol, Wan Ji said he was in agreement with it.

He said, however, that this did not mean that alcohol should be banned altogether from flights.

“Muslims cannot deny the rights of non-Muslims. There must be give and take, tolerance and mutual respect when it comes to religious sensitivities.

“It is a sin for Muslims to serve alcohol, hence why Muslim flight attendants should be given the choice to not serve alcohol.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal if the flight attendants are given a choice on donning the hijab or refusing to serve alcohol.”

Wan Ji said in the same light, MAB had to be sensitive to the religious requirements of others.

He said if a certain religion did not permit its followers to eat certain meat, the airline should consider providing options for these passengers.

Earlier today, The Star Online reported that Asri had defended his suggestion, arguing that it should be viewed from a human rights and not from a religious perspective.

He said Muslims should be given space to practice their religion the same way non-Muslims had the right to practice theirs.

Asri also stressed that he did not suggest in any way that all employees of the national carrier cover up and that he was only referring to Muslims who may have expressed a wish to.

In the case of alcoholic beverages being served on board its flights, Asri said it was improper and questioned the need for alcohol to be made available at all. He also argued that many other airlines did not serve alcohol on board their flights.