Malaysian neo-Nazi bands lined up for Kuala Lumpur concert; similar event in Ipoh cancelled

A festival featuring six right-wing “Malay power” bands is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur next month, but a similar event in the northern city of Ipoh has been cancelled amid protests.

Update: No such thing as Death to Antifa fest at Publika, says UEM Sunrise

The “Death to Antifa” event features bands from the country’s notorious Malay power scene with names such as Xenophobia, Spiderwar and Total Distrust. Posters for the event at the Black Box in Kuala Lumpur on April 6 feature a large eagle reminiscent of the official symbol of Germany’s former Nazi movement.

Some of the same bands were scheduled to perform at the Rebellion Fest in Ipoh, in Perak state, on April 13, but the venue for the event, Ladyboss Studio, this week pulled the plug on it after coming under pressure from local anti-racism protesters.

The Malay power movement is made up of neo-Nazi bands who want to rid Malaysia of everyone who is not ethnically Malay and stop immigration to the country.

Boot Axe, one of the most prominent Malay power bands, were due to perform at the Ipoh event. In an interview with pop culture website Vice, a band member named Slay said the Malay power movement was “concerned about keeping a pure Malay community all over the Malay Archipelago”.

“Malaysia is home to people from China, India, and foreign immigrants from Bangladesh, Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Burma [Myanmar],” Slay told Vice. “The government can’t control the entry of immigrants, and we get so many of them.

“There are so many protests against the government about this issue, but they haven’t done anything tangible to improve the situation. Malays fall prey to criminals who come from abroad and sell drugs and commit murder, rape, robbery, and so on.

“The lesson that we can learn from Nazism is that we can take extreme racist action if the position of the Malays is affected by these factors.”

Asked how Asians could identify with an ideology that promoted white supremacy, Slay said: “Most worldwide organisations say that Nazism is just for whites. And yes, we are not members of the blue-eyed, blond-haired Aryan race – our community is brown-skinned, brown-eyed, and dark-haired. We’ve just adopted the spirit associated with Nazism as a symbol for the Malay race’s response if it’s threatened by racial issues.”

The South China Morning Post has reached out to a Black Box spokesman for comment.

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