Chow said the matter was delicate because it involved a non-Muslim place of worship proposing to hold an Aidilfitri event near a temple.

“I was shown a poster featuring the temple as a backdrop. Naturally, this would touch on sensitivities among certain quarters, especially Muslims who see it as a religious celebration.

“I think it is fine for a residents’ association, or even companies, to host an open house in a hall.

“But this involves a religious organisation holding a celebration not of its own religion, but of another. That is the issue,” he said on the sidelines of an event at Farquhar Street here.

Chow said that, based on the comments online, most people saw the idea as good but had concerns about its execution.

The controversy began when the Penang Islamic religious affairs department (JHEAIPP) stopped the Thean Hock Keong temple association from holding an Aidilfitri open house outside the temple this Saturday.

JHEAIPP director Marzuki Hassan ordered the temple in a March 31 letter to cancel the event, adding that celebrations related to Aidilfitri were Islamic in nature and required permission from the Penang Islamic religious council. The association said it would respect the decision.

It also denied that it or the Zhao Zi Long Cultural and Arts Association of Penang – an entity under the temple association – would be involved in any “unity banquet” reportedly scheduled to replace the open house.

This was after deputy chief minister I Mohamad Abdul Hamid said the banquet would be co-organised by Zhao Zi Long and Bagan Ajam residents.

The Thean Hock Keong temple association said its original open house plan was aimed at “fostering unity, strengthening ties of friendship, and reinforcing harmony in the local community”, but it wanted to avoid further confusion after the cancellation.