KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian singer Charly van Houten of Setia Band and former vocalist of ST12 will have to conquer his aerophobia for his Malaysian fans' sake.
Aerophobia is an extreme fear of flying.
The 43-year old singer whose vocal was behind ST12's popular song P.U.S.P.A will have to fight his own demons if he were to carry on with the plan to stage the ST12 Reunion / 20 Tahun Charly Berkarya concert at Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil on March 11.
"I began to develop this fear of flying about five years ago, probably due to having traveled by air ever so often and hearing the many bad incidents (fatal accident and hijacking) involving air travel in recent years.
"In fact, I was still feeling a little anxious before coming here, that I forgot to bring along my passport to the airport. Thankfully I managed to get someone to bring it to me," Charly told a press conference at Hard Rock Cafe here today.
Charly who resides in Bandung said that in the last five years, he had to give a miss to more than 50 offers to perform outside Java Island and Bali, including twice to tour in the United States.
"Even when I had a gig in Bali, I'd be traveling two days ahead of other band members, as I'd be traveling either by road or rail (before catching the ferry to cross the Bali Strait)."
He however realised the need to overcome this fear of flight once and for all, so that he could come and perform in front of his Malaysian fans again.
Charly last performed here when he was still part of ST12, which he left in 2011, to form Setia Band.
Tickets to the concert, organised by Menara Network Sdn Bhd, are priced between RM99 and RM282. They are now available on https://www.ticket2u.com.my