PETALING JAYA: The PAS-led Kelantan authorities had organised the Bon Odori Festival twice in 2018 and 2019, claims Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
“When the Kelantan state authorities in 2018 and 2019 officiated the Japanese Park and held the Kelantan-Japan cultural pageant, there have been Bon Odori celebrations and there was no boycott then,” he tweeted on Saturday (June 11).
The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) founder cited Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s decree, who ordered the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) to not forbid Muslims from attending the pageant.
Sultan Sharafuddin was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad, who stated Muslims shouldn’t attend the occasion.
The Ruler additionally instructed that Idris, Jais and Shah Alam City Hall officers attend the pageant to get a real image of the occasion.
The Bon Odori Festival is scheduled to be held on the Shah Alam Sports Complex on July 16.
Syed Saddiq stated he agreed with Sultan Sharafuddin’s decree and that they need to attend and see for themselves what the Bon Odori Festival was.
“Don’t bounce to conclusions. This will deteriorate relations between Malaysia and Japan.
“Our nation’s power lies in our range. We cannot let variations in our tradition break our unity,” he stated.
Despite the royal rebuke, PAS’ ulama and ladies’s wing stated Muslims shouldn’t attend the occasion, claiming that the pageant has parts of Buddhist rituals that might sway one’s religion.
