Kedah bars rock,reggae,pop and dangdut concerts

By SIRA HABIBU,ALOR STAR,29 August: It’s goodbye to rock, reggae, pop and dangdut concerts in Kedah.The Pakatan Rakyat state government has imposed a blanket ban on such concerts until further notice because, it said, such shows could have a negative influence on youths.“We do not condone any gelek-gelek (gyrating movements) on stage,” said state executive councillor Dr Ismail Salleh

“We are currently formulating a comprehensive guideline for concerts.“Until then, concerts of such nature are banned,” he told The Star here yesterday.Dr Ismail, who is state PAS liaison committee member, said the state government was not against entertainment.“We just do not want to allow the type of entertainment that could negatively influence people,” he said.Dr Ismail said concerts involving nasyid and patriotic songs were allowed.He said the Ambang Merdeka concert at Stadium Darul Aman tomorrow night would proceed.“We have invited artiste Roy and Kopratasa band to sing patriotic songs,” he said in response to a last-minute cancellation of a daytime mini-concert in Menara Alor Star recently.

Dr Ismail said the guidelines on concerts set by Jakim would be implemented in Kedah.“The federal guidelines are there but, so far, only Kelantan has implemented them,” he said.