KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — The youth wing of Malaysia's opposition Islamic party said Thursday it will not hold a protest against two women who were to sing at a football match after a local leader criticised their plan.
The PAS youth wing in central Selangor state had objected to the women singing at the July 6 match, saying they wore sexy attire and performed erotic dance moves that were inappropriate since many youth would be in the audience.
The group had threatened to protest at the stadium hosting the match between Selangor and Singapore.
However the Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin Idris Shah, said he would cancel the entire football tournament after learning of the group's plan, a report said Wednesday.
The Sultan said the protest over the two women -- rock singer Ella and Mas Idayu, who performs the hip-swivelling "dangdut" dance -- was "hypocritical" and "trivial."
PAS youth chief, Salahuddin Ayub, said the leadership had decided it would not hold a protest but would send a letter to the state government.
"We want the organisers to make sure the concert will not promote negative culture among the young," he said Thursday. "We are very concerned since social ills like drug abuse among the young is increasing."
Malaysia's population is predominantly Muslim, and the nation's sultans are the traditional guardians of Islam in the states they rule.
PAS, which rules the northern state of Kelantan, has had ambitions of turning Malaysia into a theocratic state under Islamic rule.
But in recent years it has begun introducing reforms designed to tone down its hardline reputation and woo young voters.
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