A golden opportunity wasted

Not just America’s sweetheart: Taylor Swift performing at a shopping festival gala in Shanghai, China. – AFP

Our self-appointed guardians of morality do not realise that getting big musical acts to perform in Malaysia will give our post-pandemic recovery a huge boost.

THE announcement that Malaysia has moved up to Tier 2 Watch List of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2023 is a welcome respite from all the negativity that’s been swirling around us recently.

The ringgit’s steady decline against the US dollar as well as other major currencies has created an unwanted and unwarranted perception of the country’s economic recovery efforts, but Malaysia’s “promotion” may just be the shot in the arm that will allow us to turn the corner.

According to the Home Minister, this new position will give Malaysian products better access to international markets, which is a relief because a lower ranking would affect our economy.

The Prime Minister also recently announced a slew of new initiatives including dismantling subsidies that will hopefully get us back on track.

These initiatives, while timely and necessary, will take time to impact our beleaguered economy. This is disappointing because we don’t seem to be interested in the low-hanging fruits that could have far quicker results.

A prime example is the big musical acts that tour this region. Coldplay, probably the biggest stadium band in the world now, is a case in point.

Their Nov 22 concert at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil sold out within two hours, yet the band and their US promoter/organiser, Live Nation, has decided against a second night in Kuala Lumpur.

Contrast this with their sold-out concerts at around the same time in Tokyo, Kaohsiung, Perth, Manila and Singapore. Each of these regional venues has more than one concert date. In fact, Singapore has proudly announced six consecutive concert dates – all sold out obviously.

We don’t seem to get that these concerts featuring the big acts have a multiplier effect on the host city.

Sold-out concerts mean tourism money. Concert-goers do not only spend at the venue; they also stay at hotels, visit restaurants, buy souvenirs, etc. Everyone benefits from these concerts – the local promoter, airlines, our national stadium, traders outside the venue, KL hotels and F&B outlets. Even tourist spots will see a spike in visitors as foreign and outstation ticket buyers would stay on in KL for additional nights.

This revenue generation is a key reason why Singapore’s Culture, Community and Youth Minister has put out a YouTube video promoting next year’s Taylor Swift concert, which will be held in the republic. And the American songstress is performing for three consecutive nights!

Coldplay and Taylor Swift aren’t the only superstars making a beeline for Singapore. It’ll be interesting to see the statistics on just how much revenue is generated from these concerts.

Our neighbour’s gain is our loss. There are a few reasons why the big acts either avoid or are reluctant to perform in Malaysia. Bureaucratic red tape, lengthy approval process and lack of concert venue options are some of the reasons. But the number one reason is political.

Remember the Blackpink concert in March? The South Korean super group performed in front of a sell-out crowd of 60,000 in Bukit Jalil.

By all accounts, it was a huge success. Record sales meant that the government would have garnered more than RM1mil from entertainment and withholding taxes alone. Some 8,000 of these concert-goers were foreigners who flew in from India, China and even Australia.

But at one point, the organisers threatened to cancel the concert because our self-appointed guardians of morality claimed that the girls would violate several regulations set by agencies, including those that say there should not be any revealing clothes or actions that disrespect local sensitivities.

These protests from political groups in Malaysia are a given every time a foreign concert act comes to our shores. Coldplay was no exception.

In a recent statement, the Arts, Live Festival and Events Association (Alife) said that these protests leave a sour note with the artiste, organiser and concert-goers.

“These protests have proven to have a direct impact on our international business environment and reputation. We urge the government to protect our business and prevent any groups from dictating what the majority of Malaysians want for the country,” the statement read.

Malaysia is infamous for all the wrong reasons. From requiring Interpol assistance to detain an American comedian to arguing over what constitutes a national heritage dish, we always seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot.

We can add our failure to secure additional Coldplay performances to this infamous list. In the words of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Malaysia “missed an economic lottery” as Coldplay managed to sell out six shows in Singapore.

The Muar MP claimed that Singapore will collect ticket sales of RM180mil for the six-day concert.

“My point is, while we are arguing about organising concerts in Malaysia, foreign countries are seizing a golden opportunity to generate an economic surplus,” he explained.

And if you add the multiplier effect that these additional concerts will have, this was a golden opportunity wasted to boost our post-pandemic recovery.