Nurul Izzah Officially Invites Radiohead To Perform A Charity Concert In Kuala Lumpur
Will Radiohead come?
By Samantha Khor — 20 Jul 2018, 05:50 PM
Looks like Permatang Pauh MP and long-time Radiohead fan Nurul Izzah Anwar has taken the first step in fulfilling her promise to bring the English rock band to Malaysia
Way back in 2013, Nurul Izzah - then MP of Lembah Pantai - expressed that she would bring the band to Malaysia if the then-opposition won the 13th General Election.
Five years later, following Pakatan Harapan (PH)'s unexpected win over Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th General Election, Nurul Izzah's casual promise began making its rounds on social media to remind the young politician of her promise.
In an open letter published on Twitter today, 20 July, the PH lawmaker has formally invited Radiohead to perform a charity concert in Kuala Lumpur in support of Gaza and the Palestinian struggle
"For more than 60 years, Malaysia has had a government in power that frowned upon creative expression and dissent, regularly pressuring international acts to cancel performances for not conforming to their standards or clamping down on any musical expression that was overtly or covertly political," the letter read.
"This year however, Malaysians finally overthrew decades of single-party rule in favour of progressive politics, and it is in the vein that we invite you to perform in Kuala Lumpur to cap off a year for celebration.
We propose a charity concert in support of Gaza and the Palestinian struggle. For many Malaysians, the issue of Palestine is close to our hearts being a long-standing episode of injustice against fellow Muslims, but one that has steadily gained greater humanitarian support and traction over the years."
The letter also highlights the controversy surrounding Radiohead's concert in Tel Aviv last year, in which frontman Thom Yorke reportedly swore at fans waving Palestinian flags during a show in Scotland
The band's scheduled gig in the Israeli capital was met by widespread criticism, with several quarters pressuring the band to consider calling it off.
In response to the criticism, Yorke released a statement in Twitter arguing that, "Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing its government."
"We don't endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression," he added.
Hence, Nurul Izzah proposed for proceeds from the charity concert to be directly channeled to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA)
"A charitable concert to raise funds for the educational and social pursuit of young Palestinian children would rebalance criticism while reminding everyone to he universality of music and Radiohead’s commitment towards the pursuit of justice, and against any form of economic, political, and social discrimination," she wrote in the open letter.
