Muslim NGO to hold ‘Malay Civilisation Day’ after being shocked by Bon Odori’s success

The Islam Defenders’ Associations (Pembela) has announced that it will be organising the ‘Malay Civilisation Day’ next Saturday (30 July).

In a statement, Pembela chairperson Aminuddin Yahaya said the NGO was shocked and disappointed to see a large number of Muslims attending the recent Bon Odori Festival despite strong objection from religious authorities.

“I was shocked to see 35,000 people celebrating this Bon Odori Festival, who were mostly Malay-Muslims, even though the asatizah (religious teachers) group, including the religious authorities and the mufti forbade it.”

“This is based on the results of their study, which found that there are elements of syirik (idolatry) behind it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ‘Malay Civilisation Day’ will be held on 30 July at Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur from 9 am to 5 pm.

It is said that the group has plans to make it an annual event complete with an exhibition, parade and performances.

While there has been no announcement of what kind of activities will be held, the group has already posted an poster on its Facebook page.

In June, PAS vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad, who is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs, has urged Muslims to not attend the annual Bon Odori Festival as it had elements of another religion in it.

However, the 46th edition of the Bon Odori Festival saw approximately 35,000 Malaysians of all races as well as foreigners thronging the event and some groups viewed this as an apparent act of defiance towards opposition levied by the religious authorities.

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