GEORGE TOWN: "There is nothing wrong for a mufti to apologise to an artiste or anyone for the matter."
This was what Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor had to say after netizens had mixed reactions to him apologising to songstress Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin's over his comments that her planned concert in March was too close to Ramadan.
Wan Salim said many commented that there was no need for him to apologise for his action against Siti Nurhaliza.
"For them, what I said was correct and there was no need to apologise.
"However, it is not wrong for a mufti to apologise to an artiste or anyone for the matter. This is because we are not infallible human beings.
"We cannot be sure that what we say is right in the eyes of Allah. In the eyes of the people, muftis are better than artistes.
"But how do we know it's not otherwise? So it is okay to apologise," he said today.
As such, Wan Salim said he hoped netizens would not prolong this issue.
"Stop the polemics! Be kind to fellow servants of Allah. There is no perfect human being other than the Messenger," he added.
On Sunday, Wan Salim said the only problem he had with Siti Nurhaliza's planned concert in March was it was too close to Ramadan.
The mufti added that he does not question the intentions of the concert organisers at all.
In an official statement from Siti Nurhaliza's company, Yayasan Nurjiwa, it was explained that the main purpose of the concert was to raise funds for the victims of the war in Palestine who urgently need assistance.
Wan Salim has since apologised to Siti Nurhaliza.