Ed Sheeran's concert in MY draws scrutiny over LGBTQ+ concerns

Malaysian Islamist Opposition party PAS has reportedly urged the government to ban artists who support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community (LGBTQ+) from performing in the country. This comes ahead of Ed Sheeran’s concert on 24 February at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

Allowing such artists to perform just before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is insensitive, said PAS ulama council’s chief, Ahmad Yahaya, according to Malay Mail.

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The invited artist has a background of LGBTQ+ ideology which is firmly rejected by Malaysia and the central committee for application for filming and performance by foreign artistes (Puspal) should have imposed stricter conditions, added Yahaya.

Yahaya also highlighted an incident during last year’s Good Vibes Festival to further his case where the lead singer of The 1975, Matty Healy, went on an expletive-laden rant against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws.

The rant which culminated in a prolonged kiss between Healy and his bandmate, Ross Macdonald, led to the total cancellation of the festival.

Before Yahaya’s statement, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said that performance applications by foreign artists such as Ed Sheeran will have already been reviewed before being allowed to perform, according to media reports.

Vetting would have been done by 16 agencies which includes the Home Ministry and the Islamic Development Malaysia Department (Jakim) to approve applications for gigs by foreign artists, explained Minister Fahmi.

Minister Fahmi also added that there are no changes to the approval of Sheeran’s concert but that the government will conduct further investigations if there is a need to revise the approval.

His statement was in response to the Penang’s Muslim cleric Wan Salim Mohd Noor who also called upon the government to cancel Sheeran’s concert over LGBTQ+ concerns.

In fact, a 'kill switch' was reportedly in effect when British pop-rock band Coldplay took to the stage recently amidst calls by The Muslim Scholars Association of Malaysia (PUM) to cancel it over the band's support for the LGBTQ+ community.

According to communications and digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, the use of the 'kill switch' to stop Coldplay’s concert if it goes out of line was discussed with Puspal and the concert’s organiser.

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