Why do international stars skip Malaysia? Here are four reasons

A standup comedian has listed four reasons that makes Malaysia less attractive to international stars from conducting their tours in Malaysia.

The first reason is red tape.

“Unnecessary red tape. Paperwork is easily 10 times of Singapore’s.

“Malaysia is increasingly intolerant of artistes and their “liberal” stances,” added Dr Jason Leong.

He said this via X, in response to Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS’ World Tour. Rodrigo would be heading to Singapore but opted to skip Malaysia altogether.

The intolerant stance can be seen in the frequent protests held by Pas activists against Western performers.

The third reason was economics.

“Weaker ringgit means thinner margins for local promoters,” he said.

Last but not the least is the latest guideline introduced by the government.

“Who wants to perform with a kill switch?”

In March, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the authorities would employ a kill switch as a last resort in the worst case scenario.

It was first used against the performance of British band, The 1975 at the Good Vibes Festival in July 2023 at the Sepang International Circuit.