MAY 2 — The fiasco surrounding the cancellation of “Thirst 2015: We Are All Stardust” has yet to come to a close. The organisers have to refund all the 3,000 tickets sold while seeing the millions of ringgit they have dumped into the concert preparations evaporate. The squabble over the concert ban between DAP’s and PAS’ elected reps has yet to reach an amicable resolution.
The cancellation of a concert is only a small matter compared to the ramifications that might ensue.
The concert has received earlier approval from the MPSJ, but because of a protest letter from PAS’ Seri Serdang assemblyman Noor Hanim Ismail on the excuse of objections from local residents, citing also that the concert is organised by the same company that put up the Bukit Jalil show resulting in six deaths from drug taking last year, the concert has to be called off.
Noor Hanim Ismail is the state assemblyman for Seri Serdang while the concert venue is in Seri Kembangan. If there is any problem with the concert, it should be the responsibility of Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah or Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming. Protesting the concert without consulting these two elected reps is a blatant act of overstepping the authority of these two reps that will only tarnish the image of the Pakatan state government.
There have been plenty of precedents where concerts by foreign artistes have been barred in Malaysia, including the banned concert by Erykah Badu in 2012, and Kesha in 2013. These concerts have been banned by the authorities mostly on the grounds of public safety, religious sensitivity or non-conformity to the country’s social values, which are still acceptable. But to kill the concert merely because of Noor Hanim’s personal views alone, not only will the organisers suffer tremendous financial losses but it will also have adverse impact on the country’s entertainment business in the future.
While it is perfectly possible for disciplinary problems to pop up during a concert, what the local authorities should do is to enhance safety measures and put things in order instead of squarely barring the concert. If concerts should be banned because of a single drug abuse incident last year, shouldn’t football matches be banned as well due to occasional violent outbreaks?
Large-scale concerts and entertainment events have become an unstoppable trend as well as a part of modern living today. The government should explicitly set out rules and regulations governing concerts, and not to intervene or ban a concert in the name of defending moral values.
Can we deduce that the intervention by the PAS rep has signalled the infiltration of radical Islamic thoughts into the Selangor state administrative system?
There is no way for the government to allow any adverse influence on the showbiz industry merely because of a single person’s dogmatic judgment. If the government people embrace such stagnant mentality, how would we expect ourselves to host truly world class entertainment events in the future?
Given the strong religious intervention in administration, how are we going to convince the international community that we are indeed a moderate secular state? — MySinchew
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
