KUALA LUMPUR: Visitors to the Good Vibes Festival 2023 expressed their disgust regarding the controversial behavior of The 1975 vocalist, Matty Healy. During the festival on Friday night, Healy breached local customs and made disparaging remarks about Malaysian law. This left many festival-goers disappointed and caused a shift in the festival’s atmosphere from “good vibes” to “bad vibes”.
Expressing agreement with the decision made by the Committee on Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artists (Puspal) to blacklist the band from performing in Malaysia, visitor Iskandar Zulkarnain, 30, believes that any foreign artist should respect the country’s laws. “He (Healy) has to respect the values in this country. Matters related to LGBT have already been emphasized and are not allowed by the government. They (The 1975) should have done their research before accepting the offer to perform here. Now with what happened last night, we as concert fans are afraid that it will cause other bands from abroad to be afraid to perform in Malaysia,” he told Bernama.
According to media reports, during their performance at SIC (Sepang International Circuit), Healy, with a bottle of liquor in hand, allegedly launched into a tirade against Malaysia’s LGBT laws, prompting the organizers to swiftly end the band’s act. Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil held a meeting with the festival’s organizer, Future Sound Asia, and ordered the cancellation of the remaining days of the festival.
Minister Fahmi stated that the position of the Unity Government is clear and there will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages, or violates Malaysian laws. While another festival-goer, Puteri Shahirah, 24, believes that the festival organizers had provided appropriate guidelines for guest artists and does not blame them, she believes that the problem lies with the vocalist’s lack of respect for the culture held by the community in Malaysia.
Previously, Healy had also performed controversially by eating raw meat on stage during a concert at Finsbury Park in London. In response to the cancellation of the concert, Zed Zaidi, the president of the Malaysian Artists Association (Seniman), stated in a live broadcast on his TikTok account that the public should not blame the government. He emphasized that action can only be taken when someone makes a report.
As a preventive measure, Zed, also known as Rozaidi Jamil, suggested that the government appoint a representative from the arts to be on the Puspal panel. “I am appealing if it is possible to put a representative from the arts on the Puspal committee to assess whether foreign artists are eligible to perform or film in Malaysia,” he said. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
