Menteri Lebai Ada Beranikah Ke Festival

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Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah hari ini mencadangkan agar Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Hal Ehwal Agama) Idris Ahmad supaya hadir ke program sambutan Bon Odori pada 16 Julai 2022 di Kompleks Sukan Negara Shah Alam (Panasonic).
Titah baginda, ini supaya pemimpin PAS itu dapat memahami perbezaan di antara agama dan budaya. “Baginda juga tidak mahu menteri itu menggunakan platform Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) untuk membuat kenyataan yang mengelirukan dan tidak tepat serta boleh menjejaskan imej dan reputasi Jakim,” titah baginda menerusi hantaran di Facebook, Selangor Royal Office.

Sultan Sharafuddin berpandangan apa saja bentuk budaya yang diamalkan oleh setiap masyarakat di dunia ini, sememangnya ada hubungkait dengan agama. “Namun seiring peredaran zaman, amalan-amalan budaya ini tidak lagi menonjolkan ciri-ciri keagamaan. “Baginda tidak mahu pihak-pihak tertentu khususnya ahli-ahli politik menggunakan isu-isu yang menyentuh sensitiviti agama sebegini untuk kepentingan peribadi dan meraih populariti semata-mata.
Menurut Sultan Sharafuddin sambutan Bon Odori di Malaysia lebih kepada festival kebudayaan yang mempamerkan budaya tradisional rakyat Jepun khususnya tarian, persembahan gendang, perhiasan tanglung, pakaian dan makanan tradisi Jepun serta produk makanan tempatan. “Ia juga dipromosikan sebagai hari untuk menyatukan kembali keluarga dan rakan-rakan yang sudah lama tidak bertemu,” titah baginda.
Baginda turut memaklumkan bahawa dirinya sendiri pernah menghadiri sambutan perayaan ini pada 2016 dan menerusi pemerhatian baginda, sambutan Bon Odori tidak melibatkan upacara berbentuk keagamaan atau ritual (syirik) yang boleh memesongkan akidah mereka yang hadir menyaksikan. - mk
Sultan Selangor orders 46th “Bon Odori” to proceed – A slap in the face of PM Ismail, JAKIM and PAS islamic extremists...
Bon Odori (not to be mistaken with Bon Jovi) is a festival that has been celebrated in Japan for centuries. Obon or just Bon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honour the spirits of one’s ancestors. Odori means lively dance. Hence, Bon Odori is a family reunion where people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors’ graves – with dances thrown into it.
In Japan, the dance – lasting for three days – is usually performed during the summer Obon season. Recognized as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, the dance traces its origins back more than 700 years to a harvest festival initiated around the late 1280s. Some say the origin of Bon Odori goes back to the Heian period (794 to 1185).
Regardless of when the Bon Odori started, it existed before Parameswara founded Melaka. In Malaysia, the festival dates as far back as 1977 to promote and strengthen cultural ties between the country and Japan by showcasing Japanese food, drinks, art, and dance. From a small affair for Japanese expatriates, the annual event has since attracted about 35,000 participants.
The Japanese Bon Festival actually originated from the Ghost Festival in China, which is being celebrated by Malaysian Chinese on the 15th night of the seventh month (August 12, 2022). On this day it is believed that the “Gates of Hell” are opened and that the dead return to visit their living relatives. Both festivals are part of the Buddhist-Confusion custom to honour and remember ancestors.
However, as speculation of the 15th General Election grows louder, PAS Islamist party thought it could play its favourite religion card to fish for votes. On June 6, Idris Ahmad, Religious Affairs Minister advised Muslims not to participate in the upcoming festival as it contains elements of other religions – based on a study conducted by JAKIM (Malaysian Islamic Development Department).
Treating Malaysian Muslims as if they are so ignorant they can’t differentiate tampon and french fries, Idris insisted the Bon Odori festival could confuse the Muslims. PAS young women’s wing – Ameerah Malaysia – has gone to the extent of banning the dance altogether, saying it is “haram” or forbidden for Muslims to participate in a religious festival that honors the spirit of the departed.
Idris Ahmad - Religious Affairs Minister The next day, Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor told Muslims not to participate the Bon Odori festival for fear it could lead to “syirik” (polytheism). He said – “Since the festival is linked to remembering the souls or spirits of ancestors, it is feared that it could lead to polytheism. Remembering the souls of the ancestors by dancing, worshipping their spirits and others is not encouraged in Islam”.
After cancelled for the past two years due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Bon Odori festival will be held at the Shah Alam Sports Complex in Selangor on July 16 this year. In Penang, where the festival had been held in for the last 10 years, the state tourism and creative economy committee said the state government did not plan to cancel the event scheduled for July 30.
Stunningly, the Sultan of Selangor issued an order today (June 8) to the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) not obstruct “anyone” from attending the festival. Not only Sultan Sharafuddin decreed the religious department to hand off Bon Odori, the monarch has also expressed his displeasure over the dubious study done by JAKIM to ban the Japanese traditional festival.
After being summoned to the Palace, JAIS director Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad was told that the Sultan disagreed with the religious department’s decision. With tail between legs, Mohd Shahzihan said – “His Majesty is of the opinion that there are many cultures that have links with religion, but it is not necessarily that the religion is present in the culture”.
The Malaysia Islamic religious department might be too stupid to get the message, but the Selangor Sultan was basically mocking them – “You can take the PAS-Malay out of the kampong (village), but you can’t take the kampong out of the PAS-Malay”. But the Malay Sultan was not done with the radical, extremist and narrow-minded PAS leaders, who often act as if they are the messenger of God.
The religious department was shocked when Sultan Sharafuddin ordered officers from JAIS and the Shah Alam City Council to attend Bon Odori to see with their own eyes what actually happens during the dance festival. Apparently, the monarch himself has in the past attended the annual festival and did not find anything that could confuse, let alone corrupt the faith of Muslims.
Bon Odori Festival - Malaysia 2022
It’s basic common sense that if the Bon Odori is such a threat to the faith of local Muslims, a sizable of them would have left their religion over the last 45 years since the introduction of the festival in the country. The fact that not a single Muslim has been influenced to join the Bon Odori sect proves it is nothing but a harmless festival for everyone to have fun. Now that the Sultan of Selangor has decreed that Bon Odori is as harmless as a baby, will JAKIM as the federal government agency that administers Islamic affairs in Malaysia dare to go against the state monarch? If Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad keeps quiet, it will not only undermine his Islamic credential, but also proves that PAS leaders are a bunch of fake holy men.
Do not Muslims in the country flock to visit their ancestors’ graves during Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid Al-Fitr) festival to offer prayers and clean the area? Isn’t that also an event that honours the spirit of the departed, one way or another? Are playing firecrackers or the act of giving “duit raya” (money) in a sealed green envelopes part of Islamic teachings to begin with?
The royal decree is not only a slap in the face of the corrupt and extremist JAKIM and PAS Islamic party, but also Prime Minister Ismail Sabri. The turtle-egg man, who returned from a six-day trip to Japan last month, celebrated his maiden visit to the Land of the Rising Sun as having created new opportunities in all sectors to bring immense benefit to the country and its people. Heck, the prime minister has even trumpeted that his policy to empower Malaysia’s Look East Policy will promote the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept, so much so that over 1,000 Malaysians will be sent to gain work experience in Japan. Unless Sabri plans to send non-Muslims, the government’s anti-Bon Odori festival means the PM is guilty for exposing Muslims to the Japanese culture.
In the past, Sultan Sharafuddin of Selangor rarely expresses his opinions or disagreements over religious matter being administered by JAIS or JAKIM. For him to do so now means the country is on the wrong track that could cause extremism as well as economic destruction. The World Bank has warned that most countries are headed for a recession – even the possibility of the return of 1970s “stagflation”.
Not only the World Bank has slashed its global economic growth forecast by nearly a third to 2.9% for 2022, the situation could turn for the worse. World Bank President David Malpass said global growth could fall to 2.1% in 2022 and 1.5% in 2023, driving per capita growth close to zero. Does JAKIM or PAS Islamic party know what does stagflation mean?
It was already bad that foreign investors are fleeing the country like a plague due to political instability and undesirable investment climate. The last thing PM Ismail and Malaysia want to see are Japanese companies like Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co Ltd, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsubishi Power and others stop or slash their trade investments in the country due to religious extremism.
Hadi Awang - PAS leader
The Sultan of Selangor has every reason to be furious. The anti-Japanese festival has been widely reported in Japan. Shah Alam, the venue of the Bon Odori Festival, is home to several big Japanese manufacturing facilities like Panasonic, Sharp and Shin-Etsu Chemical. Obviously, diplomatic and trade ties between Japan and Malaysia could be seriously affected if the offended companies decide to boycott Malaysia.
This is not the first time the Sultan clashed with JAKIM over religious matter. Two months ago (April), the monarch decreed that JAKIM cannot issue any statement regarding the decisions made by the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI), following the appointment of Sultan Sharafuddin by by the Conference of Rulers to be MKI chairman.
The prime minister, who previously was the chairman of MKI, has been demoted as deputy of Selangor Sultan. The move was taken primarily because the arrogant JAKIM had repetitively abused its position as a federal government agency under the Prime Minister’s Department to usurp the power of the monarch as the head of Islam.
In December 2021, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin issued a royal decree banning politicians from preaching Islam in the state. The decree was specifically targeting the Islamic Party PAS. It was not the first time the Palace revoked the teaching accreditation to politicians. The Selangor Royal Court council made a similar decision back in March 2019, and again in August.
PAS extremists were upset with the royal decree because it would affect the Islamist party’s ability to spread fake news and falsehoods among Malay voters. A PAS leader, Ahmad Dusuki Abdul Rani, was up in arms, claiming that the ban would only widen disunity among Muslims. He even spread dangerous rumours and fears that the royal decree would allow the enemies of Islam to “rejoice”.
The PAS leaders, riding on Islam, had also gone as far as conspiring with Muhyiddin backdoor government and faked the revocation of the emergency laws without the consent from the Palace, a move tantamount to usurping the powers of the King in 2021. It was an act of waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the King), an offence that carries capital punishment – “death penalty”. - FT
Isn't about narrow nationalism and jingoism or trying to be a hero to one's voters in the heartland...
I have nothing against Ismail Sabri Yaakob globetrotting to promote the use of bahasa Melayu - the Malay language -  although I'm fearful that this is another jingoistic, vote-chasing "hangat-hangat tahi ayam" thing. And as if to thumb the nose at the Prime Minister's folly, the Sarawak Government is allowing English to be used in the state's administration. As a user of bahasa Melayu, the national language of the Federation of Malaysia, and English, the second language of the country, I always believe that both languages have a role to play in our domestic and international relations. 
I believe God enables human beings to develop languages for the ease of communication. The Tanzanians, Kenyans and  many others in East Africa communicate in Swahili. If you're there, it's best that you communicate in Swahili if you know the language. If you don't and I'm certain not many Tanzanians speak Malay, you find a language that both the Tanzanians and you understand. That would most likely be English. 
It's utterly unreasonable, costly and even perilous to insist that the Tanzanians communicate with you in Malay. How many Tanzanians understand Malay? We have been speaking English to the world for ages. Our command of the English used to be so good that our Ministers were regularly elected to chair International conferences and our diplomats to lead the all important drafting committee. 
In addition to Prime Ministers like the late Tunku Abdul Rahman and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, other Malaysian leaders such as the late Muhammad Ghazali Shafie (aka King Ghaz), Rafidah Aziz, Musa Hitam and Anwar Ibrahim were highly sought after by the international press corp for insights and exclusives. That was my experience of covering these leaders and many more from the late 1970's right to the early part of the 21st century. 
Sadly, in the intervening decades, we have lost much of that advantage as fewer and fewer of our ministers and diplomats are knowledgeable in global issues and are no longer proficient in English. This is made worse by the appointment of low level politicians as ambassadors. Let's face it. Unless you're the Presidents of Russia, China or the United States, the delegates are not likely to be in too much of a hurry to put on their earpieces to listen to the translation of your speech. Of course speaking in the mother tongue is unavoidable if your English is inadequate or plain bad. 
This isn't about narrow nationalism and jingoism or trying to be a hero to one's voters in the heartland. Being understood and respected globally for intelligence and substance is what diplomacy is all about. It's not about taking to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly to exhibit one's national language or dress. - A.Kadir Jasin
Di Sarawak English boleh diguna bagi urusan rasmi.Pasai apa Mail? Cakap tak serupa bikin...
PM Brader Ma'el kata semua komunikasi rasmi Kerajaan hanya boleh gunakan bahasa Melayu. Maksudnya bahasa Inggeris (yang menjadi kelaziman kita juga) tidak akan digunakan lagi. Ketua Menteri Sarawak pula kata 'In Sarawak we've got our own stand and the state's civil servants can use English'. Maksudnya Sarawak tidak peduli kepada hujah Perdana Menteri dan Kerajaan Pusat. Ini pun sangat memalukan Perdana Menteri dan juga KSN. Kalau-lah di Jepun, memang kedua mereka sudah "VSS" pun.The government is headed down the tubes. Itu kita boleh nampak dengan clear dan jelas.- Syed Akbar Ali

Here's something you can do,return RM30k wages...
Former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan has told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that 1MDB paid him RM30,000 a month without him having to lift a finger in return.
However, a DAP lawmaker said there is something which Sidek can do now - return the sum accumulated over a period of five years.
"Is he proud of having had such a position where he did not have to attend meetings or do work?
"It is important to raise the question of returning that money in view of him admitting that he did not do any work while on the 1MDB board.
"Would he be willing to do so?" asked Lim Lip Eng (below) in a statement this evening.

The Kepong MP said Sidek owed the public an explanation for his conduct.
"Anyone would be suspicious if he is paid for doing nothing. Didn't Sidek feel guilty? He never asked questions about the investigations on 1MDB for (five) years.
"During that period, didn't he realise that something was amiss?" he asked.
Sidek's revelation, said Lim, underscored the need for Putrajaya to disclose the number of "paid to do nothing" positions in government agencies and government-linked companies.
"This matter cannot be taken lightly, especially since Sidek is (at the time) a powerful civil servant who had an influence on other civil servants," he added.

Never briefed about 1MDB
Yesterday, Sidek said he was paid around RM30,000 a month to sit on 1MDB's board of advisers from July 1, 2010, until June 23, 2012, when he was still chief secretary.
He was retained on the board following his retirement for RM10,000 a month until June 2015 when he was appointed chairperson of Petronas.
Probably...
Sidek said he was never briefed about 1MDB nor participated in discussions regarding the firm.
He added that he never asked Najib Abdul Razak - the prime minister at the time - about 1MDB because he understood that the firm was meant to fund BN.
Sidek was testifying before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah who is presiding over the trial against Najib for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB's funds. - mk

Bekas Ketua Setiausaha Negara, Mohd Sidek Hassan kata, bekas Perdana Menteri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak kata gaji dia sebagai KSN terlalu kecil,hanya RM29,215 sebulan. Jadi Najib lantik dia jadi Ahli Lembaga Penasihat 1MDB pada bulan Ogos 2010.Tapi Mohd Sidik kata, sepanjang jadi Ahli Lembaga selama enam tahun dia tidak pernah diundang ke sebarang mesyuarat untuk membincangkan isu berkaitan syarikat 1MDB itu.Maksudnya dia jadi Ahli Lembaga Penasihat atas nama saja dan dapat gaji buta.- A.Kadir Jasin 
I am wondering what foreigners reading this news will be thinking. Is this a country of dumb fools, corrupt and utter idiots?It is high time Malaysians thought about where this country is heading. The top civil servant received an additional RM30,000 a month for shaking his legs at home and keeping his mouth shut for all the shenanigans happening with public funds by the former prime minister.
Meanwhile, the poor Mak Cik and Pak Cik are toiling on the roadside to sell kueh and nasi lemak to feed their families, and the ordinary Chinese and Indians work their guts out to give their children a decent education. When are the Malays going to realise they are being screwed every day by the Malay elites and their non-Malay cohorts both in the government and private sector? God help this cursed nation. - All Things Considered
When the chief secretary of the government allows the then prime minister to make use of his name and position to secure tens of billions in loans guaranteed by the government, he is an immoral man. How can Malaysia have so many shameless, greedy and selfish top leaders? And yet voters choose them. If you are still poor, you deserve it. - PinkCougar9549
It’s people like Sidek and many others who chose to remain blind, dumb and deaf in return for emoluments that Najib could proceed smoothly with his diabolical 1MDB plan. Sidek was the top civil servant who should have come to the country's rescue and protected its interests. Politicians come and go, but not civil servants who are supposed to be loyal to the country they serve. - GanMu
Its obvious that Sidek is only part of the corrupt system for the benefit of certain individual or people.
cheers.

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