The nation could collectively be heard letting out cries of disappointment when we discovered that Taylor Swift and Post Malone are going on a world tour but will not be coming to Malaysia.
Have you ever wondered why foreign artistes overlook Malaysia in their world tour schedules?
Guidelines for foreign artistes who are looking to perform in Malaysia are published by the Central Agency for Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL), established under the Ministry of Communications and Digital. The guidelines set out among others, the code of ethics to be observed by artistes at concerts and the period that is prohibited for foreign artistes to hold big scale performance/concert in the country.
With regard to the foreign artistes’ clothing, both male and female artistes are required to dress appropriately. Female artistes are not allowed to wear clothing that are overly tight, see through, exposed at the chest area and above knee length. It is interesting to note that under the new guidelines published on 31 December 2022, male artistes are not allowed to cross-dress/dress up like a female at concerts.
The new guidelines also set out the days on which foreign artistes are not allowed to hold big scale performance/concert. These dates are:
- During the National Day celebration from 30 August to 31 August
- During Malaysia Day celebration from 15 September to 16 September
- Islamic public holidays and the night before Islamic public holidays (unless permission is obtained from the respective Islamic authorities), which include Awal Muharram, Hari Raya Aidilfitri and throughout the month of Ramadhan, as a sign of respect for the religious holidays.
In the event the guidelines/conditions imposed by PUSPAL are not adhered to, legal action can be taken against the concert organiser. In this regard, the organiser of the Pussycat Dolls’ concert back in 2006 was fined because the artistes were not dressed appropriately on stage[1].
While it may be an overstatement to emphatically say that foreign artistes shun Malaysia in their world tour solely because of the PUSPAL guidelines, it does not take much for anyone to recognise that the guidelines could play a part in dissuading foreign artistes from staging their concerts in Malaysia. It is likely that there will be more disappointments in store for Malaysians who may have to pop into the neighbouring country to get a glimpse of their favourite artiste.
[1] https://www.accessonline.com/articles/pussycat-dolls-too-sexy-for-malaysia-55255
About the Author
Poon Wei Ying is a Senior Associate of XK Law who graduated with First Class Honours from the Cardiff University, United Kingdom. She believes in giving back to the society and that education can change a person’s life.
