SHAH ALAM: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah views the Bon Odori festival, celebrated in Malaysia for decades, as a cultural event that fosters goodwill between Malaysians and the Japanese community working and residing in this multiracial country.

The Sultan said any form of culture practised by each community in this world, is indeed linked to a religion but with the passage of time, these cultural practices no longer highlight religious elements.

"The Bon Odori celebration in Malaysia is more a cultural festival that showcases Japanese traditions, mainly their folk dance, beating of the drums, lanterns, traditional costumes and food, and other produce.

"It is also promoted as a special day to bring family members together and friends who have not met in a long time," said His Royal Highness through a post on the Facebook page of the Selangor Royal Office,

Sultan Sharafuddin said the Bon Odori festival had become popular when many Japanese companies invested and opened up manufacturing plants in Selangor and it had become a platform to introduce this Japanese traditional form of entertainment.

The Sultan said he himself had attended the festival in 2016, accompanied by the then Japanese ambassador to Malaysia and from his observation, it was not a religious event or ritual which could deviate the the religious belief of the local attendees.

Sultan Sharafuddin has, however, commanded the Selangor Religious Department and representative of the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) to attend the festival so as to get the actual picture and ensure that it would not affect the religious faith of Muslims.

This is because the Sultan does not want certain parties, especially politicians, to use issues that touch on religious sensitivities to serve their own personal agenda and merely to gain popularity.

Sultan Sharafuddin also urged them not to simply label anything negatively without studying it first and said they needed to be fair in making any public statement that could affect harmony among the community.

The Sultan also suggested that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Idris Ahmad attend the Bon Odori festival on July 16 at the National Sports Complex, Shah Alam (Panasonic) to understand the difference between a religious and a cultural event.

Sultan Sharafuddin also does not want the minister to use the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) platform to make confusing and inaccurate statements which could tarnish its image and reputation.

-- BERNAMA