ISKANDAR PUTERI, Sept 4 (Bernama) — The Johor government will introduce new guidelines to ensure that activities, including cultural performances, remain free from practices contrary to Islamic teachings, following concerns over worship elements linked to a recent kuda kepang performance in Batu Pahat.
State Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said the guidelines, developed in collaboration with Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHM), will serve as a reference for organisers to align events with Islamic principles.
“The guidelines will be broad, covering not just cultural activities but also sports and others,” he told reporters after the Contribution Presentation Ceremony for Johor Students Pursuing Studies in the Middle East at Eko Galleria here today.
He stressed that activities involving worship, offerings or practices that could affect rationality are prohibited.
“Kuda kepang can be performed as long as there is no worship elements involved. Cultural practices that comply with Islamic law are permissible, so the focus is not only on kuda kepang but all activities,” he said.
He added that the Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) had received about 10 complaints over the past two years involving worship-related practices, including gambling, bomoh activities and certain rituals.
Enforcement will be stepped up to prevent such activities, he said.
Recently, a one-minute video titled ‘Show Puja Jin Batu Pahat’ went viral on social media, showing a ceremony believed to be linked to a kuda kepang performance, which is a traditional dance performed with flat horse effigies made of woven bamboo or rattan and accompanied by gamelan music, sometimes associated with trance rituals.
On Tuesday, three men were sentenced by the Syariah Court to one month’s jail and fined RM2,000 each for participating in the worship ritual connected to the viral video.
— BERNAMA
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