Malaysians of all walks of life are looking forward to the month of November this year when British band Coldplay will perform at Stadium Bukit Jalil as part of their global Music of the Spheres World Tour.

But just as they did for the Bon Odori festival and Oktoberfest, opposition political party Parti Pas is calling for the concert to be banned and this has resulted in Malaysians expressing outrage at the Islamist party.

Social media is abuzz with a range of opinion and the most pertinent is the baseless claim of Parti Pas that they are the sole authority on halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden) issues although the government welcomes Coldplay.

Many Malaysians see Parti Pas as a lunatic fringe group that exercises a narrow and parochial view which does not sit down well with them and find the political party overbearing and out of touch with prevailing realities.

Coldplay is known around the world for not only their music but their humanitarian work in many countries and have conformed to the guidelines for concerts set by the authorities and therefore Parti Pas is clearly out of line.

Parti Pas’ claim that Coldplay promotes hedonism and perversion by promoting the LGBTQ community is seen by many Malaysians as a poor political ploy and excuse to ban a band of world class performers.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE