Malaysia opposition leader questions government’s ‘double standards’ in dealing with UK band The 1975

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin on Sunday (Jul 23) questioned the “double standards” of the Malaysian government in how it handled separate incidents involving British pop rock band The 1975 and caretaker Kedah chief minister Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor. 

“In the case of my friend Sanusi who made a small mistake, he was arrested at 3am … (Meanwhile, The 1975 did) something that violates the laws in our country (and were) not even arrested. 

“This is the government that we have, the ‘double standards’ government,” said Mr Hamzah during a Perikatan Nasional (PN) political rally in Selangor. 

Mr Hamzah had previously condemned Sanusi’s arrest – which took place in the early hours of the morning on Jul 18 – and questioned why the caretaker Kedah chief minister was taken into custody despite having expressed his full cooperation with the police.

Several hours later, Sanusi was charged with two counts of sedition – one for allegedly insulting Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and the other for uttering seditious words regarding the establishment of the Malaysian unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Sanusi pleaded not guilty to the two charges. 

On Friday, The 1975 frontman Matty Healy kissed a male bandmate onstage and criticised Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws at a music festival in Kuala Lumpur. Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. 

Subsequently, the Good Vibes Festival, a three-day event set to run until Sunday, was cancelled on Saturday. 

“There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a Twitter post after meeting with the festival organisers. 

Festival organiser Future Sound Asia apologised for the cancellation of the show following Healy’s “controversial conduct and remarks”. It said The 1975’s management had promised the band would obey performance guidelines.

“Regrettably, Healy did not honour these assurances,” it said in a statement.

According to The Star, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said on Sunday that The 1975 left the country on Saturday morning, adding that “not much … can be done” against the band. He noted that three police reports regarding the incident were lodged on Saturday. 

During his speech on Sunday, Mr Hamzah criticised the government for allowing The 1975 to perform in Malaysia. 

“I want to tell you, this is a group that supports LGBT … I used to be the home minister. Groups like this, I have never allowed them to enter our country.

“(The government) already knows that this group is a group that will destroy the future of Malaysians. They should not have accepted (the band when it first) asked to perform in our country. (The government) should have refused,” he said. 

Mr Hamzah called on voters to show, through the upcoming state polls, that they do not want the unity government to be in power. 

“We don’t want this government to exist in our country anymore and we (need to) show it once again in a referendum for us to bring them down … I’m sure we can do it,” he told the crowd. 

Six states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan – will be holding their state polls concurrently on Aug 12. The by-election for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat will also be held the same day.

Friday’s incident involving The 1975 sparked uproar on Malaysian social media, including among some members of the LGBT community, who accused Healy of “performative activism” and said his action was likely to expose the community to more stigma and discrimination ahead of the state polls.

“Matty Healy undoubtedly just made it worse for queer Malaysians who actually live here, and have to face the consequences because we all know our politicians are gonna use this to further their agenda,” Carmen Rose, a Malaysian drag queen and performer, said on Twitter.