So, the piece of news from The Star completely shocked us.
According to a PAS leader, the acts of hugging and kissing tudung-clad female fans by South Korean K-Pop band B1A4 at a recent concert may be a “hidden agenda” to tarnish Islam. PAS information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar said he feared that the girls may be used by certain quarters to discredit the religion.
“I fear that the organisers may create an atmosphere deliberately to degrade Islam. I fear that the girls may be paid to wear tudung to do immoral acts on stage,” he told reporters here, Monday (12th Jan). He then went on to compare the probability of the controversy taken place was akin to the theory where Israeli intelligence Mossad was behind the Paris shootings.
Mahfuz said although the party was not against entertainment, he said such concerts must be done with a guideline, which he believed under the purview of the Ministry of Communications Multimedia. “We are disappointed with the ministry for giving greenlight to the organisers without providing a proper guideline. The ministry should explain this because from what we saw, there seems to have no guideline at all,” he said.
On Sunday, a three-minute video clip of the South Korean boyband’s members hugging and kissing female Malay fans on stage went viral on social media, courting criticism from netizens.
The concert organiser, TGM Events, has since apologised for the incident and said in a statement that the female fans had gone on stage willingly. The company also said it had never nor would it ever condone any form of sexual harassment or molestation during its events:
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Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) also said event organisers have been told to abide by entertainment guidelines issued by the religious body.
Also, to add on to that, as reported by MMO, the event organisers will be summoned to meet officials from the Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) over the molest claims, according to the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha.
What do you guys think? Was anyone trying to discredit the religion (Islam) with acts of what is otherwise known as the average South Korean idols’ “fan service”? Would the organisers really have gone as far as paying some random girls to wear tudungs and participate in immoral acts on stage?
UPDATE (3pm, 13th Jan):
A rep from B1A4’s agency WM Entertainment has responded to the controversy and told domestic outlet Star News:
It was done after prior approval from the event winners early on… The captured scene shows the members conducting a “drama scene parody” segment with fans. The atmosphere at the venue was good, and considering the Muslim culture, we are aware that the MC asked for consent (from the winners) once more… It all depends on one’s perspective. We will be more considerate of various cultures and customs in the future, and we will work hard to prepare a fanmeeting that all global fans can enjoy. We will be more careful.
Another rep also stated, “The rumours of molestation are only false rumours… The event was a parody of movies and dramas, and prior to the fanmeeting, we announced the event and received approval (from the winners) beforehand.”
Do you share our sentiments when we say that this has gotten completely out of hand?
Let us know in the comments box below.
Sources: The Star Online, MMO, AKP.
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