GEORGE TOWN – It is up to the Penang government to continue hosting the Bon Odori Festival, said a spokesman from Japan’s Consulate-General here amid the brouhaha over the event’s significance.
However, state Tourism and Creative Economy exco Yeoh Soon Hin has criticised Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, who suggested that the organisers change the event’s name to “avoid confusion”.
Yeoh said in a press conference here that the name “Bon Odori” clearly refers to a Japanese event and thus should not be confusing to anyone.
“It is a Japanese word. How confusing can it be? I think we should just listen to what Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has decreed, that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department does not obstruct anybody from the event. It is just a cultural showcase.”
Meanwhile, two tourism industry leaders said event detractors should not overreact nor should they hurt the sentiments of foreign nationals, including Japanese people.
The Malaysian Association of Hotels’ Kedah chapter chairman Eugene Alan Dass said there were hardly any Muslims participating in the festival, and that they are mostly onlookers or tourists admiring the event’s cultural characteristics.
“I have not seen nor heard of any Muslims taking part in the event proper. So it is puzzling that now it becomes an issue in a diverse country such as Malaysia.”
He added that politicians should not be easily distracted and should focus their time on helping to expedite the national economic recovery.
Echoing his views, Langkawi Businesses Association deputy president Datuk Issac Alexander said it is healthy to understand the culture of others.
“Our world is as diversified as it can be. Understanding the culture of others makes us human. I do not see any Muslims participating in Bon Odori too because the festival is confined to its cultural basis, and not religion.”
Earlier today Asri suggested that the Bon Odori festival to be held in Malaysia change its name to avoid confusing the event with the original Japanese celebration that has “elements of shirik (idolatry) and khurafat (superstition)”.
“The event can instead be called a Japanese cultural or community festival,” he said, claiming that this will allow the festival to be held without backlash.
Previously, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad had advised Muslims not to participate in the festival as it contains elements of other religions.
Subsequently, the sultan of Selangor decreed that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department not obstruct anyone from attending the event, and that Idris should attend the festival himself to see the difference between culture and religion.
Meanwhile, Bon Odori has been a major festival in Penang since the 1990s, when the late Datuk Kee Phaik Cheen, who was a state exco member, started promoting it as part of the state’s tourism attractions.
The Bon Odori programme is scheduled to be held at the Shah Alam Sports Complex in Selangor on July 16, and on July 30 in Penang. – The Vibes, June 10, 2022
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