KUALA LUMPUR – Terengganu Mufti Datuk Dr Mohamad Sabri Harun has joined the chorus of religious figures calling for the cancellation of the upcoming concert by British supergroup Coldplay, just ahead of their sold-out appearance at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on November 22.
According to a Malay-language publication, Sabri said the cancellation would be to express sympathy for the suffering of Muslims in Palestine.
“This concert should have been cancelled when the issue of boycotting donations for Israel is being frequently raised,” he told the publication today.
“And so contributions to negative elements associated with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement) and (everything) related (to it) should also be ‘boycotted’.”
Meanwhile, he advised Muslims to continue improving themselves, especially in performing their ‘ibadah’ (worship).
“Throughout the campaign urging for a boycott or participating in rallies to express solidarity with our fellow Muslims in Palestine, it is important for Muslims to intensify our acts of worship… we should encourage mosques and gatherings to improve our (spirituality) to a better level every day.
“Boycott efforts should not be done on a seasonal basis. It is necessary to continue to strengthen our efforts towards freeing Palestine, which is currently under the grip of tyranny,” he said.
On May 9, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim welcomed the arrival of the famous rock group in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Welcome to Kuala Lumpur! https://t.co/2mluuTo0iK
— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) May 9, 2023
However, the group’s visit received criticism from some quarters, especially religious groups, due to their support for the LGBT movement.
In response, the band’s frontman in an interview with Hitz FM radio said everyone was welcome to their show as they had been wanting to perform in Kuala Lumpur for a long time.
“We love all people, all religions, all leaders, all followers; nobody is excluded,” Chris Martin told the station.
“Anyone that is not happy that we are coming, we are so sorry, but we love you too.”
General tickets for Coldplay’s upcoming concert sold out within hours of them being made available online, earlier this year.
The tickets, ranging from RM228 to RM3,088, were swiftly purchased within three hours of going on sale on May 17.
The concert has also been mired by the involvement of unscrupulous scalpers who have exploited the enthusiasm of Coldplay fans by acquiring multiple tickets and reselling them at significantly inflated prices.
According to a statement from ticketing website GoLive Asia, Coldplay’s pre-sale tickets experienced the highest demand in GoLive Asia’s history, with an unprecedented 400,000 fans in the virtual queue. – November 16, 2023