In a statement issued today, Jakim said business premises with the halal certification are not subject to any restriction which would prohibit them from adding such greetings to their products, including cakes.

“Jakim will conduct a review and reevaluation of all matters related to the halal certification procedure manual.

“Jakim’s statement issued in 2020 is invalidated with this explanation,” said the department in its statement.

According to the Jakim statement issued in December 2020, premises with halal certification were allowed to place festive greetings on products provided the goods were not put on display.

However, displayed products bearing the halal logo cannot bear any such greeting, the statement added.

The issue made headlines again last week after a local bakery chain said that in an effort to ensure compliance with guidelines set by Jakim,  it will not include Christmas greetings on its cakes. This was to avoid the risk of losing its halal certification, it added.

An image of an internal memo from Berry Cake House’s instructing  its employees to ensure compliance was widely shared on social media, drawing sharp criticism from netizens who claimed that the chain was practising discrimination.

Berry’s retracted the instruction after the government announced that it does not prohibit halal-certified bakeries from including festive greeting messages on its products.