Taylor Swift's Singapore shows stir debate in conservative Malaysia

Suddenly Taylor Swift is the rage in Malaysia. Politicians, economists and sundry analysts are excitedly talking about her.

Even the makchiks in warongs (stalls) and apehs in kopitiam (coffee shops) in Malaysia seem to know who Taylor Swift is.

And it’s not because they are fans or because she is performing in Malaysia. No, it is precisely because she is not performing in Malaysia that she has received so much publicity. It is because of the lost revenue that could have been generated, or so the politicians and economists claim.

The excitement has not just resulted in opposition politicians taking pot shots at the ruling government but also a tiff between two politicians in the same party.

I’m simply amazed by these unintended effects of her tour. Even at the regional level, it has caused a little friction between Singapore and two neighbours – Thailand and the Philippines.

Before I come to that, let me state that although I like music and I have heard Taylor Swift sing, I am not enthralled enough to want to watch her live performance. I may be tempted if it was Shakira, for her hips don’t lie.

Beatlemania beats Swiftmania

But I can understand the mania surrounding Swift, including the special term for her fans – Swifties. This is because I have lived through Beatlemania in the late sixties and seventies.

However, I think the fan worship for Swift pales in comparison with that for the Beatles – the most critically acclaimed pop band in music history.

The cascading effect of Beatlemania was something else: the birth of many new bands, including in Malaysia, and the imitation of their dress style, including John Lenon’s round-rimmed spectacles, among other things.

Be that as it may, there is no denying the following that Swift has and the willingness of Swifties to pay big bucks to watch her perform live. Which is why thousands of fans have converged in Singapore this week from all over Southeast Asia to watch the Singapore leg of her Eras Tour.

Taylor Swift’s Singapore shows sold out

One early report said more than 300,000 fans from within and without Singapore were expected to attend the US superstar’s six sold-out shows at the National Stadium from 2-9 March.

A Reuters report quoted Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank, as saying that about seven in 10 of the 300,000 concertgoers would be coming from abroad and that they were expected to spend between S$350 million and S$500 million on hotels, food and entertainment.

The report also quoted Edmund Ong, general manager at Trip.com Singapore, as saying that from 1-9 March, the cost of flights into Singapore had nearly tripled while accommodation bookings had almost quintupled. In addition, bookings for attractions and tours had shot up by more than 2,300%.

Now all that spells big money.

No wonder politicians, economists and analysts in neigbouring nations are excited, with some even being envious or unhappy, especially because part of the deal brokered by Singapore was that Swift should not perform in any other Southeast Asian city.

The Singapore government admitted that it had given Swift a grant to play in Singapore, without disclosing the amount.

Exclusive deal annoys Thailand, Philippines

But the Singapore-only deal annoyed politicians in Thailand and the Philippines, with Thai Prime Minister Strettha Thavasin claiming that Singapore had offered Swift US$2 million to US$3 million per show on condition that she did not perform elsewhere in the region.

Philippines lawmaker Joey Salceda was reported as saying late last month that the exclusivity clause had come at the expense of neighbouring countries.

“ASEAN’s core principles are solidarity and consensus. What happened? They even used their tourism board to block other nations,” he was quoted as saying, referring to the Association of South East Asian Nations, of which Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and several other nations are members.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong felt compelled to reply, for on 5 March, in a pacificatory gesture, he said the incentive provided to Swift to make Singapore the only stop in Southeast Asia on her world tour was not a hostile act towards its neighbours.

The Singapore government was also forced to defend its grant when its Members of Parliament raised concerns, with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong telling Parliament on 4 March: "Due to business confidentiality, we cannot reveal the specific size and conditions of the grant. I can assure members of the House that the economic benefits to Singapore are assessed to be significant and outweigh the size of the grant."

Even conservative Malaysian politicians stirred by Swift

In Malaysia, there has been a heated debate about why the authorities missed the chance of getting Swift to perform here.

On 6 March, opposition party Bersatu’s deputy president, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, said Malaysia had missed an opportunity to bring in tourist money by failing to secure Swift's Eras Tour.

The same day, Bersatu’s legal and constitution bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latiff called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to explain the missed economic opportunity.

She claimed in a statement that communications between the Malaysian government and Taylor Swift's concert promoter were initiated as far back as 2022.

However, her statement elicited an unexpected jab from her party colleague, Bersatu youth leader Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal who claimed Sasha's views were her own as, not being a “main leader” in the party, she was not authorised to speak for the party.

Sasha, a lawyer, shot back saying: “This is just Wan Fayhsal’s personal view.” She went on to say on X: “This is basic economic sense, and common sense as well. Malaysia must not miss out on a highly profitable concert tour, which every country in the region is vying for.”

I was surprised because most Malay politicians – especially those from PAS, UMNO and Bersatu – are known to either condemn such performances or equivocate on them.

In warongs and kopitiam, people are also talking about the singer and wondering how she can bring in so much money to Singapore or wherever else she is performing.

Swift provided entertainment without entering Malaysia

I was amused to see analysts knocking their heads over how this expression of open difference will affect Bersatu, especially the fact that Faisal and Sasha seem to favour holding concerts when Bersatu’s opposition coalition partner, Islamist party PAS, is against such foreign performances as it feels these do not reflect Islamic values.

The fact is, all this is empty talk because Singapore has already got Swift and is reaping the harvests from holding this international show.

However, for most ordinary Malaysians who are suffering under the weight of the rising prices of goods and services, it provides something else to be excited about.

It appears then that Taylor Swift has provided some entertainment to Malaysians simply by performing in Singapore and not in Malaysia.

A.Kathirasen is a veteran Malaysian journalist/editor who has been writing columns, with breaks, in newspapers and online since 1981. All views expressed are the writer's own.

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