British band Coldplay supports Palestinian cause, says Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was responding to calls to cancel the band’s concert scheduled for Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur

Meanwhile, an Islamist MP said in Malaysia’s parliament that boycotting all pro-Israel companies and brands amid the war in Gaza was not possible

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Chris Martin of Coldplay performs last year in the United States during the band’s Music of the Spheres world tour. Photo: Invision/AP

Published: 11:02am, 22 Nov 2023Updated: 11:33am, 22 Nov 2023

British rock band Coldplay, scheduled to perform in Malaysia on Wednesday, supports the Palestinian cause, according to Anwar Ibrahim.

The Malaysian prime minister told parliament on Tuesday that he would discuss the matter with the top Islamic legal expert, or mufti, for the country’s federal territories after the latter had joined a number of religious conservatives in calling for the concert to be cancelled.

“This is a small problem, I have to say, even the previous government had approved [the concert],” Anwar said. “So, I will discuss with the federal territories mufti on the current situation as there is some pro-Palestine lobbying movement that had given its views to the foreign minister as well as my office on why there are calls to oppose the Coldplay concert although they actually support the Palestinian struggle.”

Anwar Ibrahim told Malaysia’s parliament that British band Coldplay supports the Palestinian struggle. Photo: AFP

Anwar was replying to a supplementary question from Perikatan Nasional politician Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who asked if concerts such as those by Coldplay should be allowed, considering the situation in Gaza.

Luqman Abdullah, the federal territories mufti, called on Saturday for the government to cancel the Coldplay concert. He appealed to the Malaysian public not to support the concert, adding that it would not benefit society.

“Because other issues were raised, we agreed to discuss the matter again,” Anwar told parliament on Tuesday.

Islamist party PAS and Zamri Hashim, chairman of Malaysia’s Majlis Ulama Ikatan Muslimin religious council, also called last week for the Coldplay concert to be cancelled.