Out of tune? Malaysia’s music fans fear conservative turn puts artists off

Malaysian music fans fear their entertainment scene is falling foul of the nation’s cancel culture, after lesbian singer Kehlani dropped a Kuala Lumpur gig later this month and a local band with songs containing anti-LGBTQ lyrics was suddenly axed from opening for punk megaband Green Day. The stadium-filling American rock stars – who play the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on February 18 – are vocal supporters of LGBTQ rights, calling transphobic people “close-minded” and afraid of letting their children be themselves. Its frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who has identified as bisexual since 1995, once described his sexuality as “a very beautiful thing”. Yet Malaysia has been perceived as becoming increasingly hostile to LGBTQ expression, with government crackdowns on related literature, media and activism. On Monday, event organisers Live Nation announced that Malaysian band Bunkface had been dropped as the opening act for Green Day, citing “logistical, scheduling, and production adjustments”. Malaysians quickly suggested Bunkface’s polarising stance on LGBTQ expression as the actual reason for the axe, with many pointing to the band’s 2020 song “Akhir Zaman” (End Times), which contains the lyrics: LGBT can go die. Social media users pointed out the irony of a band promoting homophobia “opening for a punk rock band fronted by a bisexual man”. Others turned their ire on Green Day itself, questioning: “Which part of this is punk?” Bunkface, formed in 2006 by a trio of Malay men, has credited Green Day as an influence. The announcement came just days after US singer-songwriter Kehlani cancelled her Kuala Lumpur concert, originally set for February 21, citing “unforeseen circumstances”, skipping the first date in a weeks-long Asia swing of her world tour. Her social media post promoting her Crash World Tour is filled with comments from fans lamenting the cancellation and asking her to reconsider. “Please come to Malaysia. We don’t mind if you postpone it, just don’t cancel it,” one fan pleaded on Kehlani’s Instagram post. The singer has not addressed the cancellation of the show. The artist, famed for blending R&B, pop and rap, first gained public attention through America’s Got Talent in 2011 and later went on to record four highly regarded albums, winning the Best New Artist nomination at the American Music Awards. Kehlani has openly identified as queer and, in early 2021, confirmed she was lesbian. Fans nationwide took to social media to express their sadness over the cancellation. Some, however, said they saw it coming as “it was too good to be true” that the government would let a high-profile LGBTQ performer take the stage. ‘Kill switch’ While neither Kehlani nor Green Day explicitly mentioned Malaysia’s stance on LGBTQ rights as a factor in the decisions, international acts in Malaysia must comply with a strict set of rules, with authorities regularly threatening to “hit the kill switch” on concerts in breach of the law. In 2023, a concert by British band The 1975 was cut short after frontman Matty Healy condemned Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ policies and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald on stage. The government responded by blacklisting the band and shutting down the remainder of the three-day music festival. Even before the incident, Malaysia was often bypassed by international artists in favour of the more relaxed governmental oversight in neighbouring Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta, despite Kuala Lumpur’s relative economic standing. The Malaysian government says it wants to attract more international artists and host bigger events, citing the concert industry as a high multiplier on the local economy, with a kicker for hotels, airlines and other tourism businesses. But Malaysia reportedly lost more than 1 billion ringgit (US$224 million) in potential entertainment tourism receipts in 2023 from scrapped concerts. Running as a progressive and inclusive alternative to the Islamist-led Perikatan Nasional coalition, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government drew the line on LGBTQ acceptance, with his administration ramping up clampdowns on the community. In 2023, authorities seized pride-themed Swatch watches, drawing international criticism, and in December, the government expanded its crackdown by banning six LGBTQ-themed novels. Australian author Scott Stuart, whose book My Shadow is Purple was among those banned, said that it had inspired him to launch a literary prize to fund more books on inclusivity. “I can help more books like this exist,” he said in a social media post on Monday.

Out of tune? Malaysia’s music fans fear conservative turn puts artists off

International acts must comply with strict regulations, as authorities threaten to ‘hit the kill switch’ on concerts violating the rules