MELAKA, Sept 5 — Religious preachers in the state have been advised not to use any religious event held at surau and mosques as their platforms to sell products for personal gain.

In fact, Melaka Mufti Datuk Abdul Halim Tawil said religious preachers should be ethical in carrying out their duties to teach their audience about Islam and Islamic teachings.

"We do not prohibit them from selling their products, but it should be done after their completed their preaching session or talks, or they can just place the products they want to sell at a corner so people can check it out and buy later.

"They should not use 45 minutes of their one-hour session to talk about their products, be it honey, dates or umrah package. If they purposely want to promote their products instead of preaching Islam, they should be frank and tell their audience earlier,” he said.

He also called on the public to report to the Melaka Islamic Religious Department (Jaim) if there were speakers who show bad behaviour, had personal problems or who practices deviant teachings.

Bernama’s observation found that certain preachers had been selling products such as sunnah food and umrah packages while giving religious talks in surau or mosque in the state, causing dissatisfaction among the audience. — Bernama