KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has described calls for the cabinet to resign over the royal addendum issue as "extreme".
Speaking on the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast with co-host Shahril Hamdan, Khairy said such demands were premature from both the moral and legal perspectives.
He said, politically, the issue was not an "existential threat" to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's leadership.
"I believe he will survive this. Some have claimed that the issue surrounding this addendum could be a precursor to something like the Sheraton Move, leading to the fall of the government.
"Umno has not changed, it still fully supports (party president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi), and I believe Zahid remains committed to PMX (Anwar)," he said.
Yesterday, unity government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the government has never concealed any document related to a royal addendum allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest.
As a member of the cabinet, he had said, he had never sighted such an addendum.
On Jan 6, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah revealed a letter from the Pahang Sultanate Council affirming the existence of a royal addendum order allowing Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve his remaining jail term under house arrest.
The letter dated Jan 4 was addressed to Najib's eldest son Datuk Mohamad Nizar by the Comptroller of the Royal Household of the Sultan of Pahang Datuk Ahmad Khirrizal Ab Rahman.
Najib had been sentenced to 12 years in prison with a fine of RM210 million after he was convicted in the SRC International case.
However, his prison sentence was halved to six years and his fine was reduced to RM50 million following his petition for a royal pardon.
Meanwhile, regarding a Christmas party at the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Khairy backed minister Nga Kor Ming, saying the event was neither wrong nor an attempt to promote Christianity.
He said he was disappointed that this celebration has been politicised, as festive seasons should be a time to celebrate the country's diversity.
"As for what Nga did, I do not see it as wrong. It was neither a threat nor an act of spreading Christianity.
"Nga wanted to celebrate a festival celebrated by some of Malaysia's Christian population," he said.
Drawing from his own experience, Khairy cited an example during his tenure as youth and sports minister, where a Deepavali kolam decoration was set up within the ministry's premises.
"Malaysia is a country where Islam is the religion of the federation, the majority of its population is Muslim, and there is an Islamic legal administration in place.
"However, we must acknowledge and celebrate everyone here. So, what's the difference between Saravanan (his deputy minister) having a kolam at the ministry and Nga organising a Christmas celebration at (his ministry)?"
On Dec 24, ministry staff from various departments came together to celebrate Christmas with joyful carols and colourful decorations.
The event, however, came under criticism from some quarters.