Malaysia’s fundamentalists stop Avril Lavigne’s concert because she is too “sexy”
For the more radical youth wing of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a fundamentalist Islamic party, the singer’s public performances promote the wrong values; for them it is an inconceivable insult that such a concert would go ahead just a few days before the country’s Independence Day on 31 August.
“It is [. . .] too sexy for us. [. . .] It's not good for viewers in Malaysia,” said Kamarulzaman Mohamed, a party official. “We don't want our people, our teenagers, influenced by their performance. We want clean artists, artists that are good role models.”
Following a wave of protests across the country the Culture Ministry's department that vets all foreign artists denied organisers the necessary permit for the concert. A spokesman for the concert's organiser, Galaxy Group, had denied that Lavigne's show had any “negative elements.”
“We respect our Malaysian culture,” he said, adding that his company was confident that it would get the permit as feedback from authorities so far had been “very positive.”
With the cancellation by the Malaysian government the affair is over to the joy of the country’s most radical wing.
Malaysian law requires that all performers wear clothes that conform to Islamic tradition and do not offend public morality or hail drugs.
All performers have to be covered from chest to knees and must refrain from jumping, shouting, hugging and kissing on stage.
The Canadian-born singer came to international prominence in 2002 with her hit ‘Complicated’. Even had the concert taken place she would have likely performed unplugged, downplaying her rebel image.
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08/08/2005
