Kuala Lumpur, September 24: A hardline Islamic opposition party has called for a ban on Grammy award-winner Beyonce’s upcoming concert in Malaysia, slamming the superstar for her “sexy image,” a party official and news reports said Thursday.
Beyonce is due to perform in the capital Kuala Lumpur on October 25 as part of her Beyonce I Am … world tour. The show will be her first appearance in Malaysia.
However, the youth wing of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has objected to the planned concert, saying Beyonce’s sexy image goes against local culture and Islamic values.
“We are against Western entertainment that promotes hedonism. We do not want our youths to be misled,” said the wing’s vice chief Ahmad Sabki.
Ahmad maintained that the Islamic party was not against entertainment but wished to promote shows with healthy and “Eastern” values.
Beyonce had been scheduled to perform in Malaysia in 2007, but decided to pull out after PAS mounted strong objections to the show.
The Islamic party has in the past opposed scheduled concerts by numerous famous Western female performers, including Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, the Pussycat Dolls and Gwen Stefani.
Malaysia is a mainly-Muslim country of 27 million people with a large minority of Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.
—Agencies