PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in his Chinese New Year greeting today revealed how his bond with the community went back to the time he grew up with his grandfather's adopted Chinese children.

In a special video message shared on his official Facebook page, Hadi said these family ties forged since childhood now continued with his own Chinese daughter-in-law.

"Whether they (the adopted children) are Muslims (or otherwise), they are a part of my family and I regard them as my uncles and they regard me as their son," said the Marang MP.

Hadi recalled that one of his adopted uncles was a Chinese man who arrived at the East Coast during the Second World War.

"My grandfather, who was at the time a village chief, rescued the man and hid him in his plantation. This shows how our connection with the Chinese community is not something new," said Abdul Hadi.

At present, Hadi said he had a Chinese daughter-in-law.

"So when its time to celebrate the (Chinese) new year, she will hold a gathering and I will attend to celebrate with her," he added.

Hadi said the Chinese community was part of Malaysia's multi-ethnic landscape and a civilised society should take advantage of a country's diversity to unite for a good cause and protect against elements that would bring harm.

"We must protect our relations with each other. This is a collective responsibility which as Muslims we have a duty to uphold and respect to foster relationships in a diverse society," he added.

Hadi said Islam also teaches its followers to be fair to all including accepting the rights of others to freedom of religion with no compulsion to embrace Islam.

"Things that are forbidden by our religion (Islam) but allowed by other religions we cannot interfere with on condition that they take care of our sensitivities [...] by not doing (things forbidden by Islam) openly," he said.