PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim has shot down suggestions to ban or call off the Coldplay concert to be held in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

He told parliament today that the British band was among dozens of rock bands that support the Palestinian cause.

“Coldplay is actually among the bands that support Palestine,” Anwar told the house during Prime Minister’s Question Time today.

“Because there are lobbyists from the Palestinian movement who support and have given their views to the foreign minister, and my office has stated, why should we stop a group that supports the Palestinian cause from performing?” he said.

Anwar said this in reply to Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN) who wanted to know if the government would consider calls to ban the concert on grounds that it was “inappropriate” considering the turmoil in Gaza.

Coldplay is set to perform at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium tomorrow as part of its Music of the Spheres World Tour.

It has been an outspoken supporter of Palestine, posting the song “Freedom For Palestine” on its official Facebook page in 2011.

The band’s lead singer Chris Martin and his team visited Palestine in 2017, which  led to Coldplay collaborating with Palestinian band Le Trio Joubran to produce a song called “Arabesque”, which was released in 2019.

Last Friday, PAS called for the concert to be cancelled, claiming this would be in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Its youth vice-chairman Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin said the concert was a form of entertainment that contradicted the holiness of the struggle of Muslims standing in solidarity with Palestinians.

“At a time when the world is in solidarity in anger over the cruelty of the Zionists on the people of Palestine along with the Muslim world praying and hoping for the safety of Palestinians, this concert could be entertainment that would evoke His wrath,” he said in a statement.

Majlis Ulama Ikatan Muslimin (Isma) religious council chairman Zamri Hashim claimed that holding the concert now would be insensitive and disrespectful to the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“The council urges all Muslims not to get involved with the concert and reminds them that their ignorance of what is happening in Palestine is a sin which will be questioned.

“Isma urges that the concert be cancelled as a mark of respect for the misery and out of sympathy for those facing bombing and attacks in Palestine, where more than 11,000 lives have been lost,” said Zamri in a statement. – November 21, 2023.