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After Bon Odori, Oktoberfest Is the Next Target for Idris to Ban Because He Thinks it Could Disrupt Social Harmony.
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright July 2022
It’s July and Datuk Idris Ahmad, The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) is already saying the Oktoberfest festival should not be held because it has the potential to disrupt social harmony and safety.
He said non-Muslims are not forbidden from consuming alcohol, but Oktoberfest could trigger social problems as alcohol is consumed openly in a festival setting.
What is happening in this country? A citizen cannot exercise his rights to enjoy drinks, dance, sing and dress the way he wants. At every turn, he is stopped from doing what he loves by others who intrude into his private life. Why can’t one do what one likes as long as one does not break the law? If a law is broken the individual ought to be punished to the maximum as determined by the courts.
Idris said, “On Oktoberfest, everyone should respect the rules and laws of Malaysia”. Yes Idris that’s why organisers have designated places for such events. Nobody wants to break the law. They just want to have a good time. Is that a crime?
He said having alcoholic drinks at a party open to the public should not be allowed as it can trigger social problems affecting harmony and safety.
He argued that “The intoxicating effects of alcohol can lead to domestic violence, traffic accidents, poverty, fights, health problems and work performance issues,” in a parliamentary written reply dated July 27. (The Star).
Idris is confusing habitual drinkers or drunkards with ordinary merrymakers who do not go to functions to intoxicate themselves.
People who attend events that serve drinks take precautions by using taxis or limousines or nowadays Grab or similar services to go to the site and return safely to their own homes.
Responsible and respectable citizens who go to Oktoberfest do not cause domestic violence, seldom get into traffic accidents because they do not drink and drive, are not known to be driven into poverty as a result of being at such a function once a year or get into fights or have health problems and most certainly do not suffer from work performance issues when they return to work refreshed after one night of dancing the polka to the rhythmic music being played by an oom-pah-pah band.
Discouraging Muslims from going is fine but preventing others from organising or attending an Oktoberfest to have fun while watching an oom-pah-pah band perform or dance the polka and sip some beers is indeed intruding into the rights of others in a multicultural society like ours.
Do not ban Oktoberfest just because Muslims don’t drink. Others have rights too!
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