KOTA BARU, Nov 18 — A motion tabled in the PAS muktamar today criticised the government for showering youth with what they call “excessive entertainment” instead of spending the public’s money on religious education.
“The Malaysian government tends to serve excessive entertainment towards the young generation through media channels ... (like) superstition, K-pop, J-pop, so much pop is shown,” said the motion, which was passed without a debate.
According to the PAS youth wing, such entertainment would distract youth away from a life of high morals and ethics.
To counter this, the youth wing proposed that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) prioritise education in the states they already rule, and also in the federal government if they win Putrajaya.
K-pop stands for pop music from South Korea, which is widely popular around the world, while J-pop stands for Japanese pop music.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports was criticised by conservative voices for allegedly spending RM2.04 billion to bring K-pop groups U-Kiss, Teen Top and Dal Shabet to its Himpunan Sejuta Belia (Gathering of Million Youths) in May this year.
J-pop artistes Shoko Nakagawa and Momoiro Clover Z were also present at the event.
For last year’s Himpunan, the ministry brought Super Junior M, the Mandopop (Mandarin pop music) offshoot of hugely popular K-pop group Super Junior.
PAS Youth has been a vocal objector to foreign musical acts performing in the country, which it regards as part of a hedonistic culture.
Among international acts that have received PAS Youth’s ire are R&B singer Beyonce, pop rock band Michael Learns to Rock, legendary singer Elton John, pop icon Mariah Carey, and dangdut artist Inul Daratista.
However, K-pop groups, such as BigBang, T-ara and BAP, have held performances in the past year without any protests from the conservative party.
The Korean cultural wave, called ‘hallyu’, is seen by some international political analysts as a ‘soft invasion’ by the emerging economic power.
On Friday, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had outlined a policy on education under its ‘benevolent state’ platform, chastising the current policy as “bringing in liberalism and sidelining Islam as the religion of the federation”.
Another motion tabled by the women’s wing in the muktamar today calls for a rejection of the school-based evaluation (PBS) system introduced in 2010, which they see as unfair to both teachers and students.
Today is the last day for the 1,116 delegates from 183 branches who have congregated in Kota Baru since Friday.
The muktamar, with the theme “Forging Unity through a Benevolent State”, is being held at the Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiah Kelantan (Putik) here.
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