Down with music: the government of the State of Kedah (in the peninsular part of Malaysia) has decided to ban pop, rock and reggae concerts, on the grounds that these musical events corrupt the country’s youth.
No more leniency for Dangdut, the hugely popular music of neighbouring Indonesia: this time it is the dancers’ swaying hips that are deemed indecent. "We do not tolerate these movements," said a member of parliament, Ismail Salleh. The PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party), his conservative party, which won the most votes in last March’s elections in Kedah, sees nothing wrong, on the other hand, with concerts of religious and patriotic songs.