‘Your faith is yours, my faith is mine'

Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar arriving at a state-level Thaipusam celebration at a temple in Skudai, Johor Baru, on Feb 5, 2023. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

I REFER to June HL Wong’s column "Can we just enjoy all our M&Ms?” (So Aunty, So What, The Star, Feb 8; online here). I would like to comment on some of her views.

About Thaipusam, she writes, “Take, for example, Johor’s Islamic Religious Council that issued a fatwa just before Thaipusam stating that Muslims in the state are prohibited from observing, attending and taking part in religious rituals of other faiths – like Thaipusam processions or Pongal celebrations, I assume.” But the fatwa only said Muslims cannot participate in the religious rituals of other faiths, it said nothing about "observing and attending” festivals.