Malaysia halts music festival after same-sex kiss

[reader]

From Thai PBS News

Malaysia’s government halted a music festival in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, a day after the frontman of British pop rock band The 1975 kissed a male bandmate onstage and criticised the country’s anti-LGBT laws.

“There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a Twitter post after meeting the organisers of the Good Vibes Festival, a three-day event set to run until Sunday.

The 1975 have also been banned from performing in Malaysia, said a government committee that oversees filming and performances by foreigners.

Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

In videos posted on social media late on Friday, Healy was seen kissing bassist Ross MacDonald after criticising Malaysia‘s stance against homosexuality in a profanity-laden speech to the festival audience.

“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it,” he said. “I don’t see the fucking point … of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

Healy later cut short the set, telling the crowd: “All right, we’ve got to go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later.”

The band could not immediately be reached for comment. Healy was criticised for kissing a male fan at a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, which also has laws against homosexual acts, media reported.

Continues at

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/malaysia-halts-music-festival-after-same-sex-kiss-by-uk-band-the-1975/

[PeterRS]

On 7/22/2023 at 6:31 PM, reader said:

“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it,” he said. “I don’t see the fucking point … of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

He did indeed make a mistake. A stupid one because Malaysia has previously banned openly gay musicians. In 2013 Elton John's concert outside KL was abandoned just before it was due to start because of Muslim clerics' stance against Elton promoting "immoral values". That the lead singer of 1975 was not aware of this is perhaps understandable. But the promoter in Kuala Lumpur must certainly have been aware of it. He would also have known of 1975's promotion of an LGBT lifestyle.  

Elton's cancellation was suprising because he had given a successful concert in KL the previous year without incident. A mark, perhaps, of the growing influence of bigotted Muslim clerics. But Healy and his band have since seen a major backlash against them on local social media. Many local gays have complained that the main result of their appearance and banning is to make life more difficult for the local LGBT community.

"In Malaysia, there are no LGBTQ+ rights, with a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for sodomy; Global Trans Rights Index ranks Malaysia as the second worst country in the world for transgender rights. And a privileged white man – the lead singer of British band the 1975 – has inadvertently made this situation worse . . .

"Healy’s terrible misjudgment was to steam into this highly complex and historically fraught situation without due care, or seemingly enough research . . . one queer Malaysian producer and DJ has argued to me in recent days that “careless displays of ‘activism’, in the form of a conceited performance, damage the work of grassroots activists”. Another queer Malaysian has told me that Healy’s behaviour will make rightwing politicians “more paranoid”, and give them more ammo to further anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-music narratives. The fear is that queer artists will find it harder to secure spaces for their events.

"Healy is protected by his status – he can return to the UK, where will face nothing more than a travel ban or slap on the wrist. He flies into a country [Malaysia], makes a clumsy provocation, leaves damage in his wake – then posts memes poking fun at the cancellation and at Malaysia from behind the safety of his phone screen."

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/26/the-1975s-matty-healy-has-hurt-malaysias-queer-community-not-uplifted-it