I refer to the letter Jesus ban: Much ado with nothing.

I wish to say that it was reliably learnt that a directive (albeit, verbal) was given that hymns bearing the name of Jesus should not be sung during the national Christmas Day celebrations proper (which means after the arrival of the King and Queen) on Dec 25 in Petaling Jaya.

Apparently, this had also been the case last year when it was held in Sabah, where songs bearing the name of Jesus were not sung and depictions of the nativity scene of the baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary were prominently absent.

It is a well-known fact that songs with the name of 'Jesus' are not allowed to be played over government radio and TV stations (perhaps with the exception of Dec 25). I have personally heard a song by George Michael entitled 'Jesus to a child' where the name 'Jesus' was blanked out while the song was played over radio.

It is also well-known that incidences of religious intolerance and discrimination has happened time and again in the past. A case in point would be the Shah Alam church. Its original site (of which piling had already begun) had to be abandoned just because some disrespectful and intolerant people objected by pelting stones and creating trouble there.

It would not be difficult then for Christmas Freak to find reasons to be '... less suspicious of such genuine motives'.

I have trust in our prime minister's commitment to religious freedom and harmony but I am not sure if the officers who sit on the various committees, the local authorities or the censorship board share this same kind of commitment.

Fortunately, we have fora such as malaysiakini which allows us to engage in healthy exchanges for greater enlightenment and understanding. Without this, we would not have been able to hear directly from Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim that there was indeed no such 'ban'.

His denial also sent a strong message to overzealous officers not to impose insensitive rulings (verbal at most times) at their own pleasure.

It is cordial respect and understanding of each other's religious beliefs and cultures that will lead Malaysians to appreciate the humanity of one other and work towards peace and harmony. This entails respect and consideration of each other's beliefs - not abandonment or avoidance of what is considered 'holy' and 'sacred' to the other.

I must certainly agree with Rosemary Cheong. Indeed, there was a secret Jesus ban and I firmly believe that if no one had spoken up and there had not been some 'ado', the 'nothing' would have become 'something' - which would have been too late by then!

And it is this vigilance that I urge all Malaysians to have so that our constitutional rights will not be compromised.