PETALING JAYA, May 3 — Malaysian pop diva Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin is under fire for hosting guests who allegedly crossed state borders to attend her baby’s tahnik.
Siti and her husband Datuk Seri Khalid Mohamad Jiwa held the Islamic ceremony that commemorates the birth of a child at their residence last Thursday.
The happy affair was overshadowed by the couple’s decision to invite religious preacher Ustaz Azhar Idrus, who has been accused of travelling interstate for the event.
Azhar is believed to reside in Terengganu and cross-border travel is currently not allowed under Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) barring special circumstances.
Some Malaysians have taken to Siti’s comments section on Instagram to criticise her for holding the event during a time where Covid-19 cases are soaring back to new heights across the nation.
Others said it was unfair for Siti’s guests to be able to travel for a newborn baby’s ceremony while many are still prohibited from crossing state borders to see their family members.
“When things are like this, the line between the poor rakyat and elite artists becomes so clear,” wrote one user on Instagram.
Another user was also disappointed to see several guests donning plastic face shields instead of wearing face masks.
“Must be nice to be part of the elites, you can just wear face shields and not face masks,” said the user.
Siti has since tweaked her Instagram settings so that only her followers can comment on her posts.
Other names on the tahnik guestlist included religious affairs minister Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri and religious preachers Ustaz Don Daniyal and Ustaz Iqbal Zain Al Jauhari.
Calls for the police to investigate Siti’s event are growing louder and many have drawn comparisons between her and celebrity entrepreneur Neelofa, who was recently slapped with a RM20,000 fine for hosting a non-SOP compliant wedding and defying interstate travel rules.
This isn’t the first time Siti has been embroiled in a controversy related to Covid-19 SOPs.
Astro Awani reported that her stepchildren, religious preachers, and photographers had descended upon a medical centre in Selangor to visit Siti after she gave birth to her son on April 19.
Social media users called the hospital’s SOPs into question and asked how so many people could have been permitted into the ward to see the Bukan Cinta Biasa singer.
It was later reported that the guests had undergone Covid-19 swab tests prior to their visits.
