THE Kedah government has decided to disallow all open-air concerts in the state, Tourism, Arts and Culture, Youth and Sports, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman Mohd Firdaus Ahmad said.

He said the decision was made following discussions with Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor in the recent state executive council meeting.

“I presented the issue in the meeting and the decision made by the state government is to prohibit open-air concerts in Kedah,” he said after officiating at the state-level National Sports Day in Jitra today.

“Some say the state government does not allow any kind of programme to be organised, don’t misunderstand… there is no problem if you want to conduct a programme, but if you want to add an open-air concert in the programme, then that is not allowed.”

Firdaus was asked to comment on the outcome of the discussion with the menteri besar on the ban on open-air concerts in Kedah.

Firdaus said as such, any entertainment permit requested by the organisers to district officers will not be approved.

“All district officers already know the standard operating procedure (SOP). If the application is accurate and compliant with the SOP, then the permit to run the programme will be given,” he said.

“Not everything is prohibited. Nasyid concerts, busking or programmes that are conducted in a hall or in private may still be considered by the district officers.”

Sanusi, in a statement previously, said any entertainment concert that encourages unethical behaviour would not be allowed in Kedah.

The ban follows the spread of a video recording of a musical group’s performance on stage witnessed by youth near the Kedah State Art Gallery, which eventually led the crowd to perform various acts, including dancing, and it invited a sense of uneasiness among the community, given that it was held not far from the Zahir Mosque. – Bernama, October 8, 2022.