KUALA LUMPUR – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has clarified that the Kepci Music Fest held in conjunction with the golden jubilee of fast food restaurant KFC in Shah Alam, Selangor, last Saturday was not organised by the government.
He said the programme last Saturday was organised by the private sector, which stirred controversy after a group of young tahfiz students were seen at the event.
“The Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) has contacted the organisers and asked for an explanation regarding the issue.
“The organisers have said that the invitation to the (tahfiz) students to attend the carnival programme and concert was done by a third party who sponsors the underprivileged and needy, including tahfiz students from the Rohingya community madrasah in Shah Alam,” he said in a video uploaded on Facebook today.
Na’im also advised all parties to be more careful and mindful of religious sensitivities, etiquette, and Eastern values and practices when organising programmes.
He said programme organisers must also take into account content appropriateness and its audience, especially those involving tahfiz students and youngsters.
“My advice is to make this issue a warning to everyone to ensure that they follow the guidelines that have been prepared. I have asked the Malaysian Islamic Development Department to call the relevant parties to take appropriate action,” he said.
Yesterday, an individual, Andrie Ung Han Xiang, admitted that he was responsible for bringing the tahfiz students to the concert and that this was done to give orphans and those underprivileged the experience of attending such a programme.
Ung said the children, seen wearing green robes and white turbans in a post that went viral, were from the Watahfiz al-Quran Rohingya Madrasah in TTDI Jaya and that they are Muslim Rohingya refugees and can hardly communicate in Bahasa Melayu. – August 30, 2023