Chong hits back at Bersatu leader for blaming govt over failure to secure Taylor Swift concert

KUCHING: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen yesterday hit back at Bersatu leader Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif over her demand for the Unity Government to answer for Malaysia’s failure to secure Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour in the country.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak chairman said Sasha should instead question her fellow Perikatan Nasional (PN) partner PAS instead of blaming Putrajaya.

“Bersatu should tell PAS to not become overly obsessed if it wants international artistes to come and host their concert in Malaysia. My advice to Bersatu leaders who want to have more international A-class celebrities perform in Malaysia – you should start by controlling the obsession of your friends in PAS and their dirty minds.

“If not, our country will continue to lose to Singapore as a place of attraction for these artistes,” Chong said in his Parliamentary debate speech.

Shasha had stated that the communications were initiated between the Malaysian government and Swift’s concert promoter as far back as 2022, and blamed the Unity Government for being unable to seal the deal.

Chong described the Taylor Swift concert, currently taking place in Singapore, as an ‘expensive lesson’ for the Malaysian government as they could have helped boost the country’s economy.

But the opposition’s obsession with playing up racial and religious issues has made Malaysia less desirable for these artistes to hold concerts, he added.

“Malaysia should also be able to enjoy economic benefits from concerts by international celebrities, but in reality, this will not happen for reasons that are very obvious to the public hosting concerts in Malaysia.

“It would not only give the economy a tremendous boost, but would also place the nation firmly on the world map as a must-visit destination in the region. Thus, Chong urged the government to be more open for international artistes to come to Malaysia and ‘not succumb to narrow and extremist demands from the opposition.’”