Guan Eng: Selangor sultan officiated same Buddy Bears show but no problem

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng questioned certain quarters who tried to politicise the international United Buddy Bears exhibition.

He said groups like Umno youth, which held a press conference yesterday to condemn the exhibition as hadith was found on one of the bear statue's hips, are turning it into a religious issue.

Lim said the bears were earlier exhibited in Kuala Lumpur from December 2011 to February 2012, and the event raised RM285,750 for children in need.

"I understand that the Selangor sultan launched the exhibition in KL, the same Buddy Bears were on show, and there was no problem, why was the issue not raised then?" he asked during a press event today.

"Why didn't Umno raise this issue when the bears were exhibited in KL?

"I feel the exhibition organiser also do not understand why there is no problem in KL but there is a problem in Penang. It seems everything Penang does is wrong, but everything that BN does is right," he lamented.

The organiser E-Plus Global Sdb Bhd, said the event was not scrapped after a hadith was found on the hip of one of the bear statues on show.

E-Plus chief executive officer Andrew Chin said the 140 two-metre tall bear statues will be displayed until Oct 30 at Padang Kota Lama as the matter has been "resolved".

Penang executive councillor on Islamic religious affairs Abdul Malik Kassim said the matter was resolved as early as 8.30am yesterday.

"When I came to know about the quotation on the bear's hip, I immediately consulted the mufti's office.

"The Penang mufti gave his advice (to remove the quotation) and I informed the CM about it," Malik told Malaysiakini.

"We then told the organisers who gave their cooperation to remove the quotation," he added.

Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor issued a statement yesterday saying the quotation was from Prophet Muhammad which was written in Arabic on the hips.

The quotation, or hadith, translates: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

Wan Salim said this exhibition is to encourage peace and unity across race, religion and culture.

However, the existence of such text at an inappropriate spot may cause misunderstanding among Muslims, he added.

Wan Salim expressed hope that future exhibitors can refer to the mufti's office if there exists any parts in their exhibition which relate to Islam, so as to ensure there are no forbidden elements. - Mkini