WHILE  questions are still being raised by certain quarters on whether non-Muslims can break fast with Muslims, a group of Malaysians from different racial and religious backgrounds threw caution to the wind and held a joint sahur and breaking of fast gathering in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The group of about 20 gathered at the Pelita restaurant in Bangsar at 4am to support a campaign aimed at uniting the nation through, “Puasa for Malaysia”.

Prominent activist and lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan was among those who joined in, and it was not her first time.

Ambiga said it was nice to be with fellow Muslims for sahur and breaking of fast as it symbolises Malaysia and the positivity it entails in the future as a united country.

“What is nice is that you do not have to do it in one spot because you can have it in your own group and community.

“It is good for the camaraderie of fellow Malaysians, something we all need badly and we all need to feel that there is something positive to look forward to,” she said during sahur.

Ambiga believed the number of participants will increase as the campaign becomes a regular event.

Commenting on protestors who were against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng attending breaking of fast events, she said the protest is ridiculous and does not represent the Malaysian spirit.

“We must have the strength and courage to ignore those sort of things and move ahead with what we believe in,” she said.

As the group slowly dispersed by 5am, Melbourne-based Fintec entrepreneur Jason Lee said he was glad to meet like-minded people who got together to show solidarity to retain harmony in the country.

“This is my first time attending this campaign in Malaysia. I came here without knowing anyone but I saw this interesting group of people and I’m glad I joined them,” said Lee.

Lee came to know of the campaign when one of the coordinators for the event, Rev. Dr Sivin Kit, shared a post about the campaign on Facebook in 2009. He then hosted a Fast for Malaysia campaign that same year, in Melbourne, when he was still a student.

“I brought my friends along to join me in fasting and we even encouraged the student body to fast together with our Muslim friends,” said Lee, 29, who is back for a work trip.

Commenting on certain groups who disagreed on having non-Muslims joining Muslims in breaking fast, Lee said it all depends on one’s perspective when looking at the campaign.

“If you focus more on divisiveness, then you will have a nation and community that is divided.

“But if you focus more on unity, you will get a flourishing country and that is what we want to encourage as a nation, a country that flourishes and stay united,” added Lee.

They all left after the call for Subuh prayers from a nearby mosque, indicating the beginning of a day’s fast for Muslims.

By 6pm, the same group, this time with more members, joined in the breaking of fast at the Chawan restaurant in Bangsar.

Kit, who fasted the whole day said he had a meeting with community leaders and fellow pastors, and during lunch time he politely told them he was fasting for the campaign.

“As everyone was eating, it hit me that my Muslim friends who have done this for years must have fought a lot of temptation while fasting and that is an amazing attitude,” said Kit.

Kit also said his colleagues were curious about the campaign and questioned whether it had received any criticism.

“Overall they are very supportive of this collective act of solidarity,” said the pastor at Bangsar Lutheran Church.

Besides Bangsar, another community in Penang held the same event and shared their experience using the hashtag #Puasa4Malaysia on social media.

“It is nice to know another community is running the campaign and showing support as we speak,” said Kit.

After dinner, Pepper Lim who is an atheist, was deep in conversation with other eager participants who shared their thoughts on the campaign.

It is his third time participating and he admitted that fasting from sunrise to sunset is still difficult for him and that is why he usually does it for half a day.

However, today, Lim achieved a new goal by fasting from 10am until Maghrib.

“For me, fasting should go beyond religion, race and culture.

“I would love for the campaign to be a national event, like maybe we should encourage everyone to fast on the first day of Ramadan as a reminder that it is a holy month,” said the 49-year-old tuition teacher.

“Puasa for Malaysia” campaign was mooted by the group Malaysians for Malaysia inviting people of all races and religion to join Muslims in fasting as an act of solidarity to bring people together.

In 2009, the campaign was named Fast for the Nation, Peace for Malaysia.

Prominent figures such as Marina Mahathir and Ambiga joined in the event, held to commemorate the formation of Malaysia on September 16. – June 18, 2017.