KLUANG - There should be no issue if Muslims join their friends of other faiths in celebrating their festivals, says Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar .
He said that celebrating other festivals was a sign of respect to their friends and neighbours.
"This is what Bangsa Johor is about. It promotes closeness, tolerance and mutual respect for each other regardless of race and religion.
"We should celebrate this in peace and harmony," he said, during a Deepavali gathering organised by the Johor Federation of Indian Organisations (Gappin) here Saturday night.
A large crowd of about 1,600 people had gathered to celebrate the event at Dataran Tasik Kluang.
He hoped that more of such gatherings could be organised for other events such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Christmas, among others.
"Such events are meaningful as it helps to improve relations between me and my people," he added.
Sultan Ibrahim also reminded the Indian community not to be divided by differing political ideologies or allow any individual to do so.
"Stay away. This is my warning to those who intend to come to Johor to cause disunity or split up my people," he said, adding that there was no place for such people in the state.
He stressed that no country would be able to develop if its people were not united.
"The people need to think which way they want to go and what they want to achieve," he added.
He reminded the Indians to always stay united as their voices would be lost if their community was fractured. - ANN
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.