KUALA LUMPUR — On Christmas Eve, PAS Youth chief Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi may have received an early gift after dozens of Malaysians flooded his Facebook page with festive greetings ahead of the celebration on Tuesday (Dec 25).

The comments by were in response to the son of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who shared an article quoting him warning Muslims against celebrating Christmas — and inevitably seeming a bit like a Grinch.

“Wish you a Happy Christmas Eve... Merry christmas to you... Hope today and in the future, Allah will open your mind, give you guidance, light and bless you with gifts. Amin,” said user Alex Wee, one of the top comments.

Another user, GimHo wrote: "Merry Christmas.... Love is in the air.... Special greeting for people who needs love! Especially you Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi."

Mr Mokhzani Mohamad told the PAS leader to "work tomorrow" with like-minded supporters if they had strong objections to celebrating or wishing others a merry Christmas.

Another Facebook user Nadiah Aiman Nazri started an entire thread within the comments section when she posted a picture of a snowman with the captions "Merry Christmas Great Grandma! I hope the holidays are full of festive cheer and a million cups of cocoa."

While some had questioned Ms Nadiah’s motive and defended the PAS leader with hateful comments, many more stood up and backed her.

Some also questioned whether Mr Muhammad Khalil dared to go against Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, who earlier on Monday wished all Christians a Merry Christmas, ahead of the celebrations.

The top comment was from meme Facebook page called “Najib Memes for Barisan Teens”, which had dedicated several jokes to the PAS leader on its own page.

Mr Muhammad Khalil had on Sunday warned Muslims not to celebrate Christmas, claiming it was an acknowledgement of the Christian religion and has elements of “syirik”, or idolatry.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has since said in his Christmas address that Malaysia’s strength lies in its diversity and understanding of its different ethnic communities and their religious and cultural celebrations.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his Christmas message said progress can only be attainable if Malaysia moves beyond narrow-minded prejudice, and urged all Malaysians to strengthen the ties that bind them together, especially when the country has recently witnessed attempts to hijack the peaceful co-existence. MALAY MAIL