Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - The Pan-Islamic Party (PAS), which has consistently pushed for a ban of all concerts, wants the government to stop South Korean megastar Psy from performing at the Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year open house in Penang.
Terengganu PAS deputy publicity chief Azman Shapawi Abdul expressed fears that the concert would bring a "negative influence to our youths".
He said the religious faith of youths were "not fundamentally strong and in a critical stage" and that the concert would not benefit them.
The Islamist party has regularly asked the government to ban concerts, the latest being the Elton John concert in Genting Highlands last year.
Its youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi has in the past tried to stop shows by Adam Lambert and pencil-shaped Avril Lavigne, whom he said was too sexy for Malaysians.
PAS, which advocates gender segregation, had also claimed that concerts led to sexual immorality and hedonism.
Last week, PAS called for a ban of all Valentine Day's celebrations and events, saying that such expressions of love were foreign to Malaysians.
Yesterday, online news portal, The Malaysian Times, quoted Azman as saying that youths should stay away from the Gangnam-style show on February 11, saying "it will not give a good impression of the future well-being of our youths".
Azman also objected to the presence of Psy, saying local artistes should have been asked to perform instead.
He said in the short-term, the concert might bring economic benefits to the country but "we have to look at it on the long-term".
In an immediate response, Malaysian Chinese Association vice president Dr Ng Yen Yen said this was the kind of political changes that PAS wanted to bring to Malaysia with the support of its Pakatan Rakyat partner, the Democratic Action Party.
"If PAS has its ways, there will be no concerts, no unisex hair salon, no Valentine's Day celebrations, banning performances at shopping malls and now,
the party wants to put a stop to the Psy concert," she said.
Ng said she would like to know what DAP leaders think of the latest statement by a senior PAS leader.
