Taeyang, a member of the South Korean Big Bang group, will be performing in Malaysia on February 7 but has been told he is not allowed to interact with local fans. – Facebook pic, February 2, 2015.
The furore over a South Korean band’s members hugging their female Muslim fans at a K-pop concert last month and the ensuing backlash from Islamic religious authorities have not dampened local fans’ appetite for this music genre, judging from the speed with which tickets for an upcoming concert have been snapped up.
Already 75% of the tickets for the February 7 concert of artiste Taeyang, a member of the South Korean Big Bang group, were sold last Wednesday.
"Response has been very encouraging and the upcoming concert has not been affected by the previous incident," the concert organiser told The Malaysian Insider.
Refusing to divulge either his identity or his company, the organiser said that they have not received any warning or notice from the religious authorities.
The organiser said the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) had neither blocked nor imposed any conditions on the sale of tickets for the upcoming concert.
"We have not heard anything. The religious authorities have not contacted us yet to issue guidelines on the dos and don’ts for next weekend's concert."
There will, however, be some changes to the concert programme to avoid the singer's interaction with fans, and some Muslim groups have already begun making statements against the concert.
The organiser acknowledged that Taeyang had a loyal following here, and his "2015 Taeyang World Tour Rise In Malaysia" concert to be held next weekend at Stadium Negara will be his first solo performance on Malaysian soil.
The event is estimated to cost about RM1.5 million and will involve some 200 people to monitor the stage effects and concert equipment.
Taeyang is also scheduled to perform in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China on this tour.
But the show in Kuala Lumpur will adopt some changes that the organiser said had to be made following the outcry over the performance of boy band B1A4 in Kuala Lumpur last month.
During that concert, tudung-clad Malay girls were embraced and kissed by the band members on stage, which drew criticism when it went viral.
"We have discussed with Taeyang and the dance crew on wearing the proper attire. There will also be no interactive sessions between fans and Taeyang, unlike previously," said the organiser.
"Serious attention has been given to the concert programme to make sure that a repeat of what happened last month does not occur."
A video of the band B1A4 hugging their three Muslim fans at a concert went viral after it was posted online with a sensational title, “Perempuan Melayu dicabul atas pentas oleh mat K-pop semalam” (Malay girls molested on stage by K-pop artistes last night).
The incident triggered a backlash from Muslims and prompted Jawi to haul up the organiser, and to ask the fans involved to come forward to assist in investigations.
The case was probed under Section 29 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 (Act 599 Indecent Acts in Public Places).
Jawi director Paimuzi Yahya was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying the department would apply for an arrest warrant if the female fans refused to come forward.
Last moth, Paimuzi told The Malaysian Insider that the religious body might forgo the arrest warrants and adopt a softer approach by counselling the three girls involved.
However, so far none of the girls involved in the video has come forward to meet with Jawi.
Taeyang's concert has been met with resistance from several NGOs, including the Malaysian Islamic Youth Association (Pembina), which expressed disappointment that the authorities had not been stern in handling the K-pop issue.
Malay rights group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has called for Taeyang's concert to be postponed or cancelled until the organiser abided by the rules and regulations applicable to performances by foreign artistes.
In a posting on Isma’s website, the group’s vice-president Muhammad Uzair Izzat Amir Muhammad said last month's incident involving the three girls should be a lesson to all parties to avoid a recurrence.
When asked about Taeyang's concert, Paimuzi merely said that Jawi had asked the organiser to follow the guidelines set out by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Director-general of Jakim Datuk Othman Mustapha told The Malaysian Insider that they would not be carrying out any specific monitoring.
"The guidelines have been set by the Central Agency for the Application of Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (Puspal), under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.
"As long as the organiser follows the guidelines set by Puspal, it is sufficient as the agency is responsible for approving or rejecting concerts by foreign artistes.
"Jakim merely gives additional guidelines," Othman said in a text message.
- TMI
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