Pembela to hold 'Malay Civilisation Day' in response to Bon Odori

KUALA LUMPUR: A "Malay Civilisation Day" will be held on July 30 here following the large participation in the Bon Odori festival.

The event organised by Associations of Islam Defenders (Pembela) will be held at Padang Merbok here from 9am to 5pm.

ALSO READ: Bon Odori festival lights up Shah Alam Sports Complex

The activities that will be held during the event have yet to be announced while the e-poster has been shared on Facebook.

There are plans to make it an annual event with an exhibition, parade and performances.

ALSO READ: PAS: It’s still a no-go for Bon Odori

This follows the call for people to avoid Bon Odori recently, which was held after a two-year hiatus on July 16 at the Shah Alam Sports Complex.

The 46th edition of the celebration saw an estimated 35,000 participants from across Malaysia attending the festivity.

ALSO READ: Let Bon Odori Festival proceed, Selangor Sultan tells Jais

Pembela had expressed its disappointment in seeing Muslims celebrating the Bon Odori Festival, an annual cultural festival originating from Japan.

In June PAS vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad, who is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs, came under the spotlight after saying that Muslims should not attend the annual Bon Odori Festival as it had elements of another religion in it.

ALSO READ: Idris should attend Bon Odori Festival, says Selangor Ruler

PAS continued to call on Muslims to stay away from the Bon Odori Festival due to concerns of "religious elements" at the Japanese cultural event even after Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had ordered the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) not to forbid Muslims from attending the festival.