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British band Coldplay supports Palestinian cause, says Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

arifnsn November 22, 2023

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British rock band Coldplay, scheduled to perform in Malaysia on Wednesday, supports the Palestinian cause, according to Anwar Ibrahim.

The Malaysian prime minister told parliament on Tuesday that he would discuss the matter with the top Islamic legal expert, or mufti, for the country’s federal territories after the latter had joined a number of religious conservatives in calling for the concert to be cancelled.

“This is a small problem, I have to say, even the previous government had approved [the concert],” Anwar said. “So, I will discuss with the federal territories mufti on the current situation as there is some pro-Palestine lobbying movement that had given its views to the foreign minister as well as my office on why there are calls to oppose the Coldplay concert although they actually support the Palestinian struggle.”

Anwar Ibrahim told Malaysia’s parliament that British band Coldplay supports the Palestinian struggle. Photo: AFP

Anwar was replying to a supplementary question from Perikatan Nasional politician Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who asked if concerts such as those by Coldplay should be allowed, considering the situation in Gaza.

Luqman Abdullah, the federal territories mufti, called on Saturday for the government to cancel the Coldplay concert. He appealed to the Malaysian public not to support the concert, adding that it would not benefit society.

“Because other issues were raised, we agreed to discuss the matter again,” Anwar told parliament on Tuesday.

Malaysian Islamists say ‘deviant’ Coldplay shouldn’t hold gig given war in Gaza

Islamist party PAS and Zamri Hashim, chairman of Malaysia’s Majlis Ulama Ikatan Muslimin religious council, also called last week for the Coldplay concert to be cancelled.

Coldplay is scheduled to perform in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.

The band has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause for years, posting a link to the song Freedom For Palestine by the OneWorld collective on its official Facebook page in 2011.

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Meanwhile, PAS MP and information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said in parliament on Tuesday that it was not possible to boycott all pro-Israel companies, including certain car brands and phone companies.

The call to boycott products or brands that are supportive of Israel, or affiliated with it, has garnered much attention in Malaysia recently, with comprehensive lists of such brands or companies circulated on social media.

Ahmad Fadhli argued that there are some products or services that cannot be shunned, such as Facebook and others.

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“We cannot do it all. Don’t look down at the people’s efforts to boycott products by companies that are supportive of Israel,” he said while debating a supply bill at the committee stage for the sports ministry on Tuesday.

He was responding to remarks made by a government backbencher, Pakatan Harapan politician Chong Zhemin, who hit out at Perikatan Nasional for what he called double standards when pushing for the boycott of brands that support Israel.

On Monday, Chong asked if the government of Kelantan state was still using luxury cars as official vehicles.

“Do you want to boycott or not?” Chong said.

This article was first published in two parts by The Star

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