A shop assistant at Berry’s Cake House in Subang Jaya, Selangor said the company had removed its notice telling staff not to accept requests for Christmas greetings on cakes.

FMT successfully purchased a cake with the greeting “Merry Christmas” written on it.

When asked about the ban on Christmas greetings, the shop assistant said she was shocked when she saw the company memo. “We have been doing this for a few years and this year suddenly we’re not allowed. But never mind, they have removed it,” she said.

She added: “We also have it (cake with Christmas greetings) on display too.”

An image of the internal memo from Berry’s to employees, citing rules by Jakim, had been widely-shared on social media, with criticisms of discrimination directed against the chain.

Jakim’s rules

The furore prompted religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar to state last night that there are no restrictions on festival greetings on cakes for customers to take home.

Jakim (the Islamic development department) also issued a statement on Facebook last night to say there is no prohibition on halal-certified bakeries writing any festive greetings on their cakes or related products.

The notice also referred to statements made in December 2020 and on Nov 1 this year.

However, the 2020 statement said the rule applied only to cakes that are not for display purposes.

The religious affairs minister has not responded to FMT’s request for clarification on the apparent difference in rules.