SUCH was the afterthought of a personal branding coach to Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh who recently envisages Kuala Lumpur (KL) emerging as a leading player in the regional entertainment circuit with the government committed to slashing red tape and accelerating approval processes for international events.
This is where avid Malay-Islamic thinker Mohd Firdaus Salleh Hudin begged to differ – “why not an Islamic finance hub, a halal economic hub or a technology hub?”
“Or even an education hub? A knowledge conference hub? A media and dignified content hub?” wondered the CEO of TV Pertiwi, a Malay language online news portal.
For context, Yeoh who is also the Segambut MP revealed on Monday (May 25) night that she has recently directed the KL City Hall (DBKL) to facilitate and speed up applications to ensure the capital remains a vibrant, preferred destination for global industry players.
“Time is money, speed is the currency. And this is how I want to drive DBKL forward in facilitating approvals when they’re dealing with applications,” she addressed the launch of KL Headline Season 2026 at the KL Convention Centre.
“We can’t just sit and wait for things to happen; we’ve to facilitate and move the file.”
The DAP’s deputy secretary-general further highlighted the massive economic impact of live events, citing the recent Rain Rave Water Music Festival 2026 in KL which generated RM320 mil for the Malaysian economy in a single weekend.
“The return for our Malaysian economy came in from international visitors – about 100,000 of them for the Water Festival – and they spent about RM255 mil just for that weekend. For our local guests, 150,000 of them spent about RM64 mil,” revealed Yeoh.
‘Road to disaster’
Surely, the counter-proposal by Firdaus has energised the rightist fraternity to take a swipe at the Madani government on grounds that mooting the idea of making the Federal capital an entertainment hub would attract “more lawlessness and catastrophes to hit the country”.
“Why not make KL a cultural hub? Do you want to make KL a second (Malaysian) Las Vegas? Suffice is Genting a damned entertainment venue,” jibed another seemingly narrow-minded commenter.
Moreover, the rightist mindset deduced that such is a concerted effort “to corrupt the faith of young people with extreme entertainment by distancing Malaysia from true Islamic teachings” or that “modern development for a kafir (infidel) person only revolves around thirst for entertainment”.
“One of the reasons is that Islamic teachings can’t enrich them with illegal money of equip them with ample power to control others,” fumed one netizen.
Inevitably, DAP – supported by the liberal Malay allies in the likes of PKR and Amanah – is again faulted for spearheading more and more of the country’s diversion from the original teaching of Islam.
“Rise up, my Malay brethren, come this GE16 (16th General Election),” rallied an obvious opposition-slant supporter.
True or otherwise, a commenter reckoned that “this type of entertainment brings more harm to the poverty-stricken and simple living race because they can easily find themselves lost and stray away from noble culture”.
“In contrast, their people are not easily caught up or left astray in social ills because they always live happily showered with luxury.”
- Focus Malaysia
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