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Ella and Mas must play, Pas Youth told

Malay Mail (18/6/08): The entertainment industry stood firm on Selangor Pas Youth’s objections to rock queen Ella and dangdut veteran Mas Idayu.
“They (Pas Youth) should go live in a cave!” This was the response by Karyawan president Freddie Fernandez when asked to comment on the call by Selangor Pas Youth to ban Ella and Mas Idayu from performing at the Sultan of Selangor Cup on July 6.

The group had handed over a memorandum on Monday to Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s political secretary, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, to protest against the inclusion of the two artistes. Ella and Mas Idayu’s dressing and performances, they said, did not follow the values of Islamic and Malay cultures and could have a negative effect on youngsters attending the event.

Fernandez said the State government should ignore the memorandum as it was trivial.

“People should give us (entertainers) some credit. We should be accorded some degree of respect for what we do,” he said yesterday.

“Ella and Mas Idayu both have their styles of performing.

Let the public decide what is appropriate and what isn’t.

“They should keep a more open mind.” He said that last week Karyawan held a meeting with Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaludin to discuss issues relating to entertainment in the State.

The issues of how artistes should dress and perform did not even arise.

“Pas should follow the Perak government’s example of being more moderate in their thinking. Both ‘Parti Keadilan Rakyat’ and Pas should get their act together and have a unifi ed opinion,” he said.

By issuing the call, he said, Selangor Pas Youth showed that they lacked respect for the rights of others.

Association of The Malaysian Music Industry Academy general manager Jennifer Thompson labelled the move as “ridiculous”.

She said it was unwise to blame artistes’ dressing and performance styles for social problems.

“Blaming people for their appearance is not fair. If you want to assign blame, blame people who do not educate their families well enough.

“Why not cancel the broadcast of all TV stations? But this wouldn’t be right.” Youngsters, she said, are by nature curious and it is up to parents to lead the way.

“Education begins at home.

Social problems can only be curbed this way, and not by calling for bans on artistes.”