I have two confessions. The first is worst than the second, in my eyes at least. PAS doesn’t seem to agree.

1. I actually like Michael Learns to Rock. I grew up listening to 25 Minutes, The Actor and Paint My Love. I even have their CDs. I know, I know … judge me now.

2. I’ve actually even gone to their concerts. Twice.

Well, if PAS Youth is right, then my #2 confession means that I have sinned. They have called for a ban of Michael Learns to Rock’s Eternity Tour 2009 in Genting Highlands

Then again, I’m not a Muslim but I am a Malaysian. It would appear that their contention is that the concert, if held, would be a major insult to Malaysia and Muslims observing Ramadhan.

Its official statement from the website says:

Konsert ini adalah suatu penghinaan besar kepada negara Malaysia dan umat Islam yang sedang menyambut bulan Ramadhan al Mubarak kini.

Dewan Pemuda PAS Pusat sekali lagi mengutuk sekeras-kerasnya jemaah menteri yang membuat keputusan ini. Dimana ia adalah suatu tindakan yang kurang ajar dan penghinaan besar terhadap ummat Islam di Malaysia.

I first noticed the story on someone’s Tweet but didn’t get the reference until I saw this article by Malaysiakini. It reads, referring to the political party’s youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi,:

He also called on the Fatwa Council and muftis to join in the protest against the cabinet for allowing such a “festival of sin” to take place.

Concert will corrupt and weaken

He urged them to cleanse this land of the “sin and transgression sponsored by Umno/BN”.

“The government has scant respect or sensitivity for Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadhan,” he said.

Er, what? Seriously, has any of the PAS members even heard MLTR’s music? Maybe they were thrown off by the word “rock” in the band name but the Danish band’s music is anything but!

And if you’ve ever been to a concert – they have always been decently dressed, have short hair, very polite and most of the time barely moving (yes, I go to the concerts – I never said it was particularly exciting).

The best part was this quote:

“A concert of this nature would corrupt and weaken the morals of the people, causing them to be undiscerning in their conduct,” said Nasrudin.

Bwahahahaha.

Talk about misguided. Sigh.

6.02pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)