HAVING yesterday instructed the Selangor Religious Affairs Department (JAIS) not to interfere in the Bon Odori festival next month, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has since told Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad to attend the event in person.

He repeated the instruction he gave to Jais officers yesterday, that Idris should go the festival and see for himself, and differentiate between culture and religion.

Idris had previously warned Muslims about attending the Japanese celebration, which he said was based on a Jakim study that claimed the festival held religious elements.

Sharafuddin also warned politicians against using religious sensitivities for personal gain and popularity.

The ruler said politicians should not arbitrarily label something as negative without conducting an in-depth survey.

“They also need to be fair in making any public statements that involve societal harmony,” he said.

A statement issued by the Selangor Royal Office today said Sultan Sharafuddin does not want the minister to use Jakim as a platform to make statements that are misleading and accurate, which can affect the department’s reputation.

The festival, which will be hosted on July 16 at Shah Alam Sports Complex, has been held for 40 years as a social event for the Japanese community and companies to foster goodwill.

Sultan Sharafuddin, who visited the event in 2016 with the then-Japanese ambassador to Malaysia, said he found that the celebrations did not include any religious components or rites.

The ruler said all cultures have some sort of religious connection.

“However, as time passed, these cultural traditions lost their religious overtones,” he said.

The Bon Odori Festival, according to Sultan Sharafuddin, is a cultural event that was being held in Selangor to build relations between Malaysians and the Japanese minority.

“When numerous Japanese firms invested and developed factories in Selangor, the event grew in popularity.”

“As a result, Bon Odori has evolved into a platform for introducing Japanese entertainment culture here and bridging relations between the two countries,” he said. – June 9, 2022.