S'pore, Manila to gain from Jakim concert rules
Published on: Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Selangor: Imposing strict guidelines on concert shows will force organisers and fans to go to neighbouring countries and cause Malaysia to lose revenue, concert-goers said."People will just go to Singapore and the Philippines for concerts, and the country is going to lose revenue," said an entertainment writer.She was responding to the move by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to introduce a new set of guidelines for concerts in Malaysia.
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They include segregating males and females in the audience.One concert-goer said the guidelines would prevent international performers from coming here."Fans will just go to Singapore. If their favourite band or singers are playing there, they will just go there. "Why would we want to give up on the economic benefits that the concerts can bring us?" she said.
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Hanis also questioned if Jakim was capable of implementing the guidelines."Do they have the manpower to implement this?
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"There is no point in coming up with rulings and guidelines if they are not going to be implemented," she added.Hanis said imposing too many rules and regulations would also make people angry."I think Jakim means well, but it is going to be impossible to implement," she said.Translator Nur Nasrah Md Nasir Khan, 27, said Muslims of both genders were not allowed to mix together during public events like concerts."But, we live in a multi-cultural society and it is not feasible to implement such rules," she said.She said the guidelines would not stop her from attending concerts, but she would use her own discretion."It would depend on the band or singer. And if they (the organisers) serve alcohol at the concerts, I will not attend," she said.Student Audrey Lye said it would be a reasonable measure if the guidelines only applied to Muslims, but it would still be difficult to implement it."Are you going to have Muslim and non-Muslim zones? The authorities can't even implement the age limit, so how will they implement this?" she asked.Lye said performers would skip Malaysia if it was going to be too mah-fan (troublesome)."They have an image to uphold and too many restrictions will only make it difficult for them."The same goes for the audience. If it is going to be too difficult, we might as well not have concerts at all," she said.Concert promoters, entertainers and NGOs have alsohit back at Jakim for gender segregation at concerts.Some dubbed the move as unwise, unwarranted, and that it threatens to ruin people's livelihood. According to Jakim, the measure was taken after a three-minute video of a South Korean band's members hugging and kissing female Malay fans on stage went viral on social media in January, prompting criticism that led Jakim's director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha to describe the incident as having "shamed Malaysia and the Muslim community". On April 2, Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the organisers of the controversial concert had been blacklisted.Reacting to news of the latest move, Soundscape founder Mak Wai Hoo said the guidelines were "silly"."You can't follow all these guidelines for all the shows. As an organiser I see problems, not only for seating arrangements but also ticketing," he said.Mak added that damage had already been done to Malaysia's reputation, and the guidelines were like adding salt to the wound.Galaxy Group project director Bonor Seen said the guidelines were unacceptable in a multiracial country,"With so many more performing arts and cultural events (lined up) in conjunction with Year of Festivals 2015, these guidelines are at odds with the Government's vision of success."What is the objective of segregation? What are they trying to achieve with such rules?" he said.This was echoed by Sisters in Islam executive director Ratna Osman, who asked if families would be separated at concerts."These rules will affect not just Muslims, but non-Muslims too," she said.Malaysian Association of Creative Artistes president Datuk Freddie Fernandez said that while enforcement is by local authorities, the guidelines could impact concert attendance numbers.Entertainer Datuk Irwan Shah Abdullah, popularly known as DJ Dave, said the move was a departure from a moderate Malaysia initiative."If you stipulate conditions on things such as concerts, we are moving away from these values," he said.Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said Jakim had overstepped its jurisdiction by coming up with the proposal. "Respect the rights granted to the people under the Federal Constitution," he said in reminding Jakim that it has crossed the line by now interfering in the affairs of non-Muslims."We must know our rights and fight for it," said Dr Wee as he called on everyone to stand up for fundamental liberties.MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said Jakim should hold a forum with stakeholders."More liberal interpretations should be proffered as this guideline is very misplaced. There needs to be a middle ground."Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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