FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN: Fingers are being pointed

2009/10/21

Faridul Anwar Farinordin

HERE we go again... Bootylicious diva Beyonce Knowles got her fans falling crazily in love with her scheduled show this Sunday, only to leave them crooning Deja Vu once more.

Her concert two years ago was cancelled due to a conflict in scheduling -- the official reason given by her management -- but it's easier to suspect that her people feared for her safety following protests by the Pas youth wing.

Rumours of Beyonce's no show had been circulating on Facebook and Twitter on Monday before concert promoter Marctensia Entertainment released an official statement later to confirm that the concert had been postponed indefinitely.

"The postponement is solely the decision of the artiste and has nothing to do with other external reasons," it says.

But why now, barely a week before the show?

Hadn't the Beautiful Liar singer's management earlier posted on her official website that she "for the first time ever, has decided to make Malaysia part of her I Am... World Tour"?

Granted, when this concert was first announced, the Pas youth wing did what they do best to "protect the morals of Malaysians" by calling for a protest. And so it rained hard on Beyonce's parade, but only for a little while.

In recent weeks however, Pas has been rather quiet.

If anything, the promotional machinery for the concert was on full swing on radio, TV and over the presenting telco company.

Beyonce's official website even highlighted news about her album I Am... Sasha Fierce achieving platinum certification in Malaysia for impressive album sales.

Looking at the way things were going, it was easy to believe that Beyonce was coming. But since yesterday, Kuala Lumpur was no longer listed on her tour dates.

After her show in Beijing on Friday, Beyonce will now meet audiences in Abu Dhabi (Oct 29), Moscow (Nov 2) and Egypt (Nov 6).

Beyonce's management will only provide the official statement regarding this later in the week, but Pas has now claimed victory over this "battle" against Beyonce and her "hedonistic" and "sexy" image.

Stuck in between are the fans with their pricey tickets (which are refundable from Ticket Axcess beginning Oct 26) and a hope for a new date with the Irreplaceable singer.

On Facebook, the rage over the issue is spreading like Beyonce's Single Ladies dance moves. Fingers are being pointed at various quarters and blame being hurled incessantly. They want to know what really happened.

Was it the "strict" dress code? Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey were all subjected to this as well and they obliged -- although Mariah gave a silent protest by wearing the same T-shirt and jeans throughout her 2004 concert.

A rumour surfaced today that Beyonce's manager and father Matthew Knowles was reportedly very worried about his multi Grammy award-winning daughter's safety.

He even made a request to the government to guarantee that there would be no ugly incidents during Beyonce's stay, including acts of terrorism.

As a father, he has the right to be cautious.

Which only questions the kind of image and misconceptions that other people have about Malaysia and its peace-loving people to prompt such drastic action.

So really, you are looking for someone to blame?


Solely 'her decision'

It was international artiste Beyonce Knowles' own decision to postpone her concert, which was to have been held here on Sunday.
Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who said this, added that there was no interference by his ministry on the matter.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said he was informed by his officials that the artiste decided to do so on her own.

There could be many possibilities why she postponed her concert, he said.

He added these could include pressure from the organisers or her refusal to comply with the dress code or simply because the concert here would not be profitable.

But he denied rumours that she had been pressured by threats from certain groups.

Since it was announced that she would make Malaysia one of the venues for her "I AM...World Tour", Pas Youth had declared its intention to take "further action" over the government's refusal to ban the concert at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil.