A few days ago, Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza and hubby Datuk Seri Khalid Mohamad Jiwa conducted an aqiqah, maulid and tahnik ceremony for their newborn 2nd child, Muhammad Afwa. For those curious, tahnik is a Islamic ceremony of touching the lips of the baby with honey, sweet juice or pressed dates.
The Malaysian sweetheart took to her Instagram to share some shots taken during the simple ceremony. It’s understood that the event was attended by the lovebirds’ family and close acquaintances, including a few well-known religious figures namely Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Ustaz Azhar Idrus, Ustaz Don Daniyal and Ustaz Iqbal Zain Al-Jauhari.
However, the singer found herself facing massive heat after several netizens began questioning about the presence of those who travelled interstate without any valid reasons. “As far as I know, the Minister of Religious Affairs is residing in Negeri Sembilan, while Ustaz Azhar Idrus lives in Terengganu, so what’s their purpose of going to her child’s ‘aqiqah’ ceremony?” one social media user prompted.
Additionally, the netizen recalled the time when his dad applied to travel interstate to visit his newborn grandson earlier this month, only for his application to get rejected by the authorities. For what reason, you ask? Apparently, he was informed that the newborn was in the high risk category to get infected.
“These religious group members who gathered at CTDK (Siti and Datuk K)’s house for their son’s ‘aqiqah’ and ‘tahnik’ ceremony, is it not at high risk? If these great religious people don’t bless your child, will your child not become a great person growing up?” he continued. “I’m more convinced that this SOPs are only for the ordinary people, while these affluent tribes are all SOP-proof.”
I admire Dato' Siti Nurhaliza , but when She did break the SOP while the rakyat unable to see their loved one and faced many difficulty through this pandemic, it's very unacceptable. https://t.co/1MwIzgPZOr
— lady syafinaz (@JamainSyafinaz) May 2, 2021
I honestly have stopped listening to Siti Nurhaliza’s songs since her covid breach during her labour the other day. Insensitive, tone deaf. No better than Neelofa. Malaysia’s sweetheart konon. Semua boleh pergi mampus. https://t.co/pUIDWfPg8d
— Rahmah Ghazali 🍉 (@rahmahghazali) May 1, 2021
malaysians to siti nurhaliza right now: https://t.co/LvM50T2TSJ
— kasy (@kasyazim) May 2, 2021
Siti nurhaliza is untouchable queen in malaysia. If you ever dare to touch her wait the whole country will fight you. But now she got cancelled. I guess marhaen had enough
— call me Wana | Penat hidup (@AiWannaYou1) May 2, 2021
With all the heated backlash targeted mainly towards the “Air Mata Syawal” songstress, it’s clear that many Malaysians have had enough of the double standards practiced by the authorities in regards to the Covid-19 SOPs.
Update:
Siti has finally come forward to shed some light on the allegations surrounding the tahnik ceremony for her son that’s been circulating. In this case, she clarified that the presence of a celebrity preacher did not involve any form of interstate travel.
“The individual agreed to attend as he was coincidentally in Kuala Lumpur when the ceremony was held,” Siti shared in a statement uploaded on her IG on Monday (3rd May). She further added that since the event was held during the movement control order, the programme and the number of guests was conducted and arranged in compliance with the SOPs.
“The ceremony was divided into three sessions, with a limited number of guests, close family members and others, as part of the tahnik ceremony to name the child on the 7th day after his birth based on the practice of Prophet Muhammad,” the statement continued.
In clarifying about the Religious Affairs Minister’s attendance, the “Dialah Di Hati” singer clarified that the morning event was not a special event, as claimed by some netizens out there. According to her, “He drop by to complete the recitation of prayers and tahnik before rushing for other programmes.”
Siti continued, “As Malaysians who adhere to the rule of law and are aware of the country’s situation, we never take the matter lightly and as long as we are under the MCO, we will try our best to observe it.” She further explained that the statement was made not to defend themselves but to clear the air on the misunderstandings.
At the same time, the couple also apologised if the issue had caused discomfort to any parties. Siti also revealed that she and her husband are willing to give full cooperation to the authorities if needed.
Sources: Lobak Merah, Sinar Harian, The Star.
