Syed Saddiq Explains How Malaysia Missed An 'Economic Lottery' With More Coldplay Concerts
"While we're over here arguing over Malaysia hosting concerts, countries out there are grabbing golden chances to generate economic surplus," said the former minister in a Tweet.
By Wayne Garreth — 21 Jun 2023, 01:52 PM
With Coldplay adding more and more concert dates in Singapore, it's safe to say that the frustrations of people in Malaysia have been growing
As of Tuesday, 20 June, the band has added a sixth day to their total number of performances in Singapore, with tickets for all six days officially sold out.
In light of all these announcements, Malaysians haven't responded too well, with many asking for a second concert date to be added to the singular date the band is performing at National Stadium Bukit Jalil.
Nonetheless, no announcement has come, and for now, it's safe to say that Malaysians may be receiving a one-night-only performance by the British pop-rock band.
Speaking on the matter, Muar member of parliament (MP) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman took to Twitter to express how this moment may have been a big miss for Malaysia's economy
"Coldplay does a tour for six days in Singapore. Yesterday, five days, today, one more date is added. What about us? To have one day has provided many challenges. But what does this have to do with Malaysia? We actually missed an economic lottery," said the former minister in a tweet on Tuesday, 20 June.
In a series of tweets, Saddiq explains why he believes Malaysia took a big hit economically with more Coldplay concert dates being added to Singapore as opposed to our own country.
Breaking down some numbers in his tweet, Saddiq went on to estimate how much money would be spent by individuals to watch Coldplay's concert at Singapore National Stadium
"Singapore National Stadium can fit approximately 50,000 people. The average price of a Coldplay concert ticket would be about RM600. One day = RM30,000. If it was six days? The total collection would exceed RM180,000, if not more than that," he explained.
Saddiq also stated that many people would jump at the chance to attend a Coldplay concert, and that it doesn't matter what country these fans come from, more so that they'd be willing to spend on travel expenses to go to Singapore.
Breaking down the flight cost, Saddiq estimated that a round trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore would cost about RM350.
"Let's say not a lot of people go, just a thousand — airlines would be able to capture RM350,000! Six days = RM2.1 million. This doesn't even count our neighbours from other countries like the Phillippines and Thailand," he continued.
Adding the cost of more expenditure for the trip, Saddiq also pointed out that people would be coming to the country for much more than just a two- to three-hour concert
"Coming from afar by flights, they aren't only going to attend a two- to three-hour concert. They'll definitely be eating and walking around.
"Let's assume that someone spends RM500 in just a single day. 1,000 travellers = RM500,000, six days = RM3 million.
"This is a huge sum of money that can be generated," he wrote in his tweet.
Concluding his thoughts, Saddiq opined that while many Malaysians are arguing about the possibility of our country holding concerts, other countries are capitalising on golden economic opportunities
"Countries out there are grabbing golden chances to generate economic surplus. Before this, we'd host anywhere between 40 to 50 concerts a year!
"Now? We have more resistance and complaints. Malaysia cannot continue to miss out on this opportunity," he added.
Receiving immense attention for his tweets, many Malaysians gave their thoughts on Saddiq's opinion by responding under the thread
A number of people agreed with Saddiq's take on the matter, saying that with so much backlash over Coldplay having one concert in Malaysia, it would surely provide more challenges to have multiple days of performances.
"On point, other countries are making money and boosting their tourism. For Malaysia...?" responded one user.
On the other hand, there were a number of people who felt as though the issue surrounding Coldplay's concert would not have made that big of a difference to Malaysia's well-being, including one user who mentioned there are other ways to boost the local economy.
"There are so many other agendas to improve Malaysia's economy, the issue with Coldplay is not that big. Surely there are other artistes or international events that will boost our country's economy once more," they stated.
However, one Twitter user pointed out how local industries such as hotels and resorts faced a tonne of issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that this may be a way for them to bolster their operations again.
"Until now, some of these places are having difficulty getting back to where they were before. If we had concerts with artistes who were really bringing in fans from other countries, it would help our tourism, small businesses, and transportation," they wrote.
As performers such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé skip out on Malaysia for their tours, Malaysians haven't been too happy:
