Hot Pussy Aftermath

Technorati tags: Music, Censorship, Malaysia, Third World, Pussycat Dolls, Boney M

Related posts:
► Bangkok or bust - Good international music Malaysia avoidance technique
► The New Landscape of Censorship in Malaysia
► To Be, or Not To Be, First World

Cultural Police Surveillance of PCD
(click on pix for the MM article)

The Cultural Police have struck again. As a bitter footnote to the recent Pussycat Dolls performance in Sunway, Inspector General of the Malaysian Cultural Police (a.k.a. Rais Yatim) issued a scathing statement about the Pussycat Dolls displaying "too much flesh" (among other things), and this was promptly followed by classic kneejerk reaction from the MPSJ (Subang Jaya Municipal Council), who are now charging the concert promoter.

THE organiser of the Pussycat Dolls concert, Absolute Entertainment, has been slapped with a RM10,000 compound notice by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) yesterday, for breach of guidelines.

MPSJ president Datuk Mohamad Arif Abdul Rahman told The Malay Mail yesterday that the organiser was found to have breached Section 11 of the Selangor Entertainment and Entertainment Outlets Enactment 1995 (Amendment 2001).

“The Pussycat Dolls were guilty of performing sexually-suggestive routines on stage. In terms of their eye-popping attire, well, there’s a lot of proof of that from our sources and the media,” he said.
(from the Malay Mail - PDF version available here)

Gee, ever heard of MTV, numbnuts?

And of course, this is the same council that approved the performance in the first place. Third World stupidity at its best. Any moron with access to the Internet and MTV would know the nature of the performance and how the performers usually dress.

Walski's not a PCD fan by any measure. Apart from the incessant airplay on our decrepit radio waves, Walski doesn't own their album (nor are there any plans to) or any other paraphenalia.

It's the principal of the whole thing - the people who were there were there because they wanted to be. None of the MPSJ officials were present, as Walski understands from the report and analysis done by our buddy Howsy. How typical.

It's no f*cking wonder why international acts worth their salt avoid Malaysia like the plague. In plain and simple economic terms - it just isn't worth it. And those that want to probably have numerous volumes of guidelines that they have to abide by - so why bother? Get ready for another dearth of good (or even not so good) international music coming to our shores, after this latest display of paternalistic over-reaction.
(more disgruntled rants in the full post)

Don't know about you, but no, Boney M doesn't count in Walski's book as a quality "now" international act. But of course, since their lip-sync splendour panders to the generation of those that make the rules, it doen't matter how they're dressed. Boney M (whichever version) could, after all, be described as grandpa's PCD of their own generation.

Walski has no problem whatsoever if grandpa and grandma wanna groove to has-been melodies, and relive their nostalgic bell-bottomed days. No problems whatsoever. What Walski has a problem with is the constant reminder that what's ok for the foggies, isn't okay for the younger set - it's the denial of allowing the younger generation to enjoy their own brand of entertainment, whithout having to worry about authoritarian harassment.

So, Walski's now waiting eagerly to find out what sort of sh*t will result from the INXS concert scheduled for later this month...

Malaysia, truly Asia third world...