KUCHING: Muslims are advised to spend within their means during this coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration to avoid running into debts.
Telling them not to overspend, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman reminded that Hari Raya is the time for them to be happy instead of worrying about how to settle their debts.
According to him, every year after Hari Raya, he would hear about people not having enough money for their children’s education as they had to pay loans for things they purchased for the festive occasion.
“We have to be clever in planning our budget and not force ourselves to run into debts and having not enough money after Raya,” he told reporters after presenting assistance to disadvantaged individuals, mosques and suraus here yesterday.
Daud, who is Tupong assemblyman, said due to their inability to manage their finances well, some people resorted to borrowing from illegal moneylenders, which would get them into deeper trouble.
On another subject, he said no activity to spread teachings of Syiah had been reported in the state so far.
“So far Sarawak is still free of Syiah teaching and we have not heard of anyone trying to spread such beliefs to the state.
“In Sarawak, we strictly follow the teachings of Ahli Sunnah Jamaah Imam Shafiee and obviously 100 per cent of Muslims in Sarawak are doing this,” he explained.
He appealed to Muslims to inform any Islamic agency if they know of anyone trying to bring Syiah teachings into the state.
“If there is, we will take immediate action accordingly,” he said, adding that the relevant agencies are monitoring the situation from time to time to prevent the spread of deviationist teachings into the state.