PETALING JAYA: The police will ask the organisers of the Good Vibes Festival in Sepang to provide more details about a controversial incident involving the performance by UK band The 1975 last night.
“There is no official investigation at this point as no police reports have been lodged yet, but we are making some enquiries,” Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan told FMT.
“The police will be calling in the concert’s organisers later this afternoon. KLIA police will be handling it.”
He added that KLIA police was overseeing the investigation as the SIC was under their jurisdiction.
During the show at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), the band’s lead singer Matty Healy criticised Malaysia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) laws and proceeded to kiss his male bandmate.
After their performance was interrupted, he told the audience at the SIC that “we have been banned from Kuala Lumpur”.
Meanwhile, Hussein was unable to confirm which agency had “banned” The 1975 as Healy claimed.
He was also uncertain as to whether Healy and his bandmates will be prevented from leaving the country until the investigation is complete.
KLIA police chief Imran Abd Rahman told FMT he was checking with immigration authorities on the matter.
“There is a chance (they will be blacklisted),” he said.
“Our checks with the immigration department found that the band has never been blacklisted (before this), and it had received approval from the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (Puspal) to perform in Malaysia,” he said.
Puspal, an agency under the communications and digital ministry, is the body responsible for approving foreign artiste permits.
Earlier today, communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil said he had called up the concert’s organiser to explain last night’s incident. He also said he will be in touch with the authorities to get a full report on the incident.
FMT has reached out to Fahmi, Wisma Putra and the home ministry for additional comments.
In a statement issued last night, the Good Vibes Festival’s organisers said it regretted that The 1975’s performance had to be cut short due to “non-compliance with local performance guidelines”.
Healy had previously courted controversy during a 2019 concert in Dubai when he kissed a male fan. Homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates. - FMT
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