US pop singer Kesha was forced to cancel a concert due to take place in Muslim-majority Malaysia yesterday after authorities said it would undermine religious and cultural sensitivities.
“We are distraught to confirm that the show [at Kuala Lumpur stadium] will be canceled,” concert organizer Livescape said in a statement, adding that it was losing 1.1 million ringgit (US$350,000) due to the ban.
Livescape said it had received a letter from the authorities on the decision to ban the concert “at the 11th hour” on Friday, despite agreeing to “modify the show to suit the Malaysian culture and sensitivities.”
The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia said in a brief statement on Friday that it had rejected the application for the concert on grounds that it “touches on religious sensitivities and cultural values of Malaysians.”
Kesha’s MTV reality series My Crazy Beautiful Life has featured her bizarre behavior in the past, including drinking her own urine.
Some of her songs refer to sex and alcohol, which are considered taboo subjects by most Muslims.
Livescape said it had made adjustments to Kesha’s song lyrics and wardrobe changes, and had modified a set list to specifically adhere to the guidelines set forth by the authorities.
Last month, Malaysia pulled the plug on a planned concert by US heavy metal group Lamb of God after Islamic authorities declared the band’s music religiously offensive.
To avoid business risks and similar bans, Livescape said: “We encourage the authorities to engage in a productive dialogue with local promoters to avoid the current situation from repeating.”
Muslims make up 60 percent of multiethnic Malaysia’s 28 million people, while Christians account for about nine percent.
Malaysia is known for its relatively moderate version of Islam.
However, conservatives occasionally cry foul over concerts by Western artists whom they accuse of promoting promiscuity, corrupting young people or offending religious sensitivities, though most concerts usually go ahead.
Music superstar Beyonce has twice canceled shows in Malaysia amid criticism of her image, while US singer Erykah Badu had a concert canceled by authorities last year after a photo appeared showing her with the Arabic word for “Allah” painted on her body.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in