PAS denies report on audience with Selangor sultan
Selangor PAS commissioner Ahmad Yunus Hairi denied a media report yesterday regarding its audience with Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, which claimed the audience was regarding the party’s stance on the Bon Odori festival.
During the audience, Yunus said no discussion took place between him and the palace.
“I confirm that during the audience, I only...
Selangor PAS commissioner Ahmad Yunus Hairi denied a media report yesterday regarding its audience with Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, which claimed the audience was regarding the party’s stance on the Bon Odori festival.
During the audience, Yunus said no discussion took place between him and the palace.
“I confirm that during the audience, I only listened to His Majesty’s decree and there was no discussion between me and His Majesty,” he said in a statement today.
He did not elaborate on the nature of the sultan’s decree, but a New Straits Times report yesterday claimed it was regarding the Bon Odori festival next month.
The report quoted Selangor PAS liaison secretary Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir as saying the party has no issues with the palace and that the sultan merely wanted to know the party’s stance regarding the summer festival.
“His Majesty gave his views and we also conveyed to him that we respected his stance. We told Tuanku our position and most importantly, we told him that we are, all the way, supportive of the palace’s role in uniting the rakyat,” he said.
“We have no problems with each other,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Yunus denied the veracity of the report.
“I hereby deny the statement regarding the meeting as reported by NST on Wednesday, June 15, 2022,” he said without further elaboration.
Bon Odori issue
Previously, Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad said the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia had researched Bon Odori and believed that it would lead Muslims astray.
Sultan Sharafuddin, however, disagreed with the minister’s view that the event was religious in nature and asked Idris to attend the event himself.
The sultan, who is head of Islam in the state, had already instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) not to obstruct the event which will be held at the Shah Alam National Sports Complex on July 16.
Jais director Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said the state religious authority would not bar any persons from attending the summer festival.
Despite this, Yunus had reportedly urged on June 10 for the Selangor government to bar Muslims from participating in the festival.
The Bon Odori is a dance during the Bon festival, which honours the spirits of ancestors and has roots in Buddhism and Shinto.
The dance itself is originally meant to welcome the spirits of said ancestors.
However, outside of Japan, the event has largely been stripped of religious connotations.
The Bon Odori has been organised in Malaysia since 1977 by Japanese expatriates.
The event in Selangor - touted as the largest outside Japan - is jointly organised by the Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur, the Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur, and the Japanese Embassy, with support from the state government.
