PAS hopes to lure voters with concerts
Malaysiakini.com
Dec 1, 2006

PAS is turning to entertainment to lure in the votes especially from the younger generation in Kelantan.

The Islamic-based party is holding on to power in the state by a single-seat majority over arch rival Umno.

The party is now planning to ‘import’ foreign artistes for a special concert in Kota Bahru next year. Among them is Yusuf Islam or Cat Stevens.

This has come under fire from Umno who accused of PAS of not being consistent in its struggle.

Speaking to Bernama, Kelantan Umno Youth leader Dali Husin said he believed PAS was facing enormous pressure and had to resort to this measure to regain support.

According to him, the state government should not call in foreign artistes because Kelantan itself is a "cultural mine".

Dali said it would be better for the state government to encourage local arts such as the "dikir barat" which could impart positive messages.

"Can they control the thousands of entertainment-hungry people of Kelantan if they go ahead with the plan to bring in foreign artistes?," he asked.

Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat admitted that the state government had to try out various means to gain the people's support.

"It is also aimed at showing that Islam does not close its doors completely to entertainment as long as it does not make man forget his responsibilities and is free from negative aspects through attire, presentation and song lyrics," he said.
Change in attitude

According to Nik Aziz, after 15 years of rule where the party had to face various problems, only now could the state government focus on new, more open measures, especially in entertainment to attract all sectors of society, especially the young.

"Personally, I am not focusing on attracting the youths (to support Pas), but to show that not 100 percent of songs and entertainment is 'haram'. If the youths want to support us, thank God," he said.

Early during its rule, the PAS state government did not allow concerts to be organised in the state because it considered them as causing irresponsibility in viewers.

The attitude change became apparent last year when the state government allowed Akademi Fantasia 3 (AF3) champion Mawi to perform, albeit with certain conditions.

The concert was followed by two more in conjunction with the first anniversary of Kota Baharu (MPKB) as an Islamic City.

The first concert was for women only, held at the Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiah Kelantan (Putik) which was participated by artistes such as Aishah, Salima, Edlin, Zila and Karen.

The following day, the Hotlink open concert featuring Mawi, Zahid, Hazama, Haziq, In-Team and Raihan was held at the Sultan Mohamed IV Stadium. 

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