Be consistent and stop protesting concerts, Hannah tells Faizal

 

Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh said she is glad that Perikatan Nasional is now openly talking about concert benefits. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh says Perikatan Nasional must be consistent in its support for international artistes performing in Malaysia.

This followed remarks made by Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu over the country’s failure to secure Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

“Glad PN now openly talks about concert benefits. Be consistent and stop protesting,” she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Faizal had earlier described Malaysia’s failure to secure Swift’s tour as a “missed opportunity” to boost the economy.

Yeoh also said that when the ministry started looking into repairs of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in December 2022, it “purchased canvas and solved flooding to avoid using dustpans during the rain”.

“Basic stuff, you know, before the lights come on for the big stars,” she quipped.

Faizal, better known as Peja, said the government “must be more aggressive” in getting A-list artistes to perform in Malaysia.

“We have A-list artistes and content in our grasp via the arrangement with ASM Global. We must be more aggressive to get them in. The huge economic windfall is beyond politics,” he said in a post on X.

US-based ASM Global is an affiliate of Anschutz Entertainment Group and Swift’s concert promoter.

Earlier, Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal denied a report claiming that the party had called on the government to answer for Malaysia’s failure to secure Swift’s Eras Tour.

He was responding to a report in the New Straits Times, where Bersatu legal and constitution bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latiff was quoted as saying that Yeoh and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must explain the missed opportunity.

He claimed that Sasha is not a main leader of Bersatu and that her views did not represent the party’s.

Previously, FMT reported industry experts as saying that Swift’s concerts in Singapore were an expensive lesson for the government, as they could have helped boost the country’s economy. - FMT