YOURSAY | 'It’s rude and insulting to change the name of festivals.'

Perlis mufti moots name change for Bon Odori

Business First: For goodness’ sake, have some respect for Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. This is His Majesty's state, no need for outsiders and busybodies to comment.

If respect for His Majesty is not enough, then have some common sense. Muslims are not so easily confused.

If they are, then every Malaysian who has left Malaysia to study or as a tourist would have left Islam and become converts upon their return from non-Muslim lands where churches, temples and other religious sites abound.

I see many Japanese flags and imprints outside Japanese restaurants where many Muslims patronise. What about these?

After all, the flag of Japan with the rising sun also has its roots in the Shinto religion. The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the emperor is said to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the legitimacy of the ruling house rested on this divine appointment and descent from the chief deity of the predominant Shinto religion.

Should flags and other decorative items used in restaurants to create ambience come with a disclaimer too, like Timah whisky?

Vijay47: Goodness, Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin is a genius, and I am sure he achieved this singlehandedly.

My wonder is why we did not figure it out earlier, that the solution to man’s problems is just a revision of terminology away. No doubt this emanates from the previous discovery, where changing “babi” to “khinzir” makes that animal a mousedeer. This surely is something beyond even David Copperfield.

So, all that remains to make Bon Odori acceptable is simply an amendment to the label – change it to Japanese Cultural Festival and hey presto, it’s Tokyo Rules OK! Never mind that the various forms of celebration within the festival remain unchanged and that they still are a reflection of a long-practised ‘ohayogozaimas’ (morning greeting) tradition.

From Bon Odori, or JCF, Asri will no doubt invent the better mousetrap, the potential is limitless. “Saki” can be termed “sirap”; “corruption” can be called “incentive”. Wow, the list smacks of eternity and beyond.

I just cannot wait for the day when Asri suggests changing Ismail Sabri to Alexander the Great.

Iphonezours: These people spend so much effort on petty issues. I feel ashamed as a Malaysian when other nations, especially our neighbours, are doing so much in uplifting their economy, infrastructure, education and health.

Here, we have ministers/preachers/PAS who have nothing better to do than dwell on a non-issue despite the Selangor sultan’s decree.

Why can’t you people put your heads to better use in coming up with solutions on how to improve our economy when prices of basic necessities are going up and our living standards are dropping?

Selangor Voter: This appears to be another power grab between PAS and our beloved Sultan of Selangor for control of the Muslim faith. PAS is now determined to undermine our sultan’s decree by telling Muslims not to attend the Bon Odori festival.

We must keep PAS out of future governments, whether federal or state.

Realkeluargamalaysia: It is rude and insulting to change the name of the festival, which they have used since time immemorial.

If you do not wish to attend it, just don't. There is absolutely no need to change its name so that Malay Muslims in Malaysia can be mentally comfortable attending it.

People like this mufti and his ilk are totally not welcome, not just to Bon Odori but anywhere else.

OrangePanther1466: It is an insult to Japanese tradition and culture if you change the name of their festival.

You are supposed to learn and appreciate other people's cultures and traditions if you are to live in a global community. You should not be easily confused if your faith in your religion is strong.

Greenmoon: The Malaysian Japanese Chamber of Commerce is watching closely at the fanaticism that has been growing of late, with PAS being part of the ruling government.

There are plenty of countries welcoming the Japanese with open arms with incentives being provided. Don’t let your foolish acts chase away the remaining Japanese factories.

Bon Odori: PAS ulama wing backs Idris after royal decree

The Wakandan: Apparently PAS' Ulama wing has taken up the gauntlet, thus setting a confrontation with the Selangor sultan.

That certainly takes lots of nerve. Lesser souls would certainly avoid this path. Perhaps this is a show of strength, or if you may, desperation.

The general election is around the corner. Radicalism is always PAS' forte, and this is their opportunity to exert themselves - to show what they stand for.

However, this is certainly crossing the red line. The sultan is blatantly clear on what he wanted. He even directed the religious minister to attend the Bon Odori fest to see for himself.

But what do the police say about this? We can reserve our popcorn. There will be more drama after this - unless someone backs down.

My2cen: This is what we were told in our school days. The Malay rulers are the custodians of the Islamic faith in Malaya. They oversee Islamic affairs in each of their states as the head of the religion.

However, PAS thinks they are the custodians of the Islamic faith. By appointing a minister for religious affairs from PAS, the PM has given PAS an avenue to propagate their type of Islamic practice.

They think Muslims are weak and immoral, thus needing their presence to remind and police their behaviour, up to the point of ignoring the rights of people of other faiths in this country.

It is time for the real custodians of the Islamic faith to speak up, or else the PAS clerics will usurp their positions.

Optimus: At the end of the day, the Muslims should ask themselves whether their faith in Islam is really that fragile that they can be so easily shaken or influenced by these so-called "unIslamic" elements they claimed to be existing in other races' cultural events or festivals.

If one's religious faith is strong, why the constant fear of proselytising the Muslims, right, left and centre?

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