KUALA LUMPUR – Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has intervened as a mediator in ongoing discussions between concert organisers and the Selangor state government following recent fatalities linked to the Pinkfish New Year’s Eve countdown event.
Fahmi, who has an artistic background before joining the Cabinet, revealed he had instructed the Association of Live Event Organisers (Alife) to formally address their concerns about proposed security measures to Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Fahmi said this when answering a query from the media on grouses raised over a Selangor state executive councillor’s statement that urine tests might be administered to concertgoers.
“I have asked Alife to write to the Selangor menteri besar and keep me updated so that we can look at this matter comprehensively,” the minister told a press conference after launching the International Regulatory Conference 2025, here, today.
“The intention (of the state government) is to find a middle point between hosting events and ensuring attendees’ safety,” he added, noting that engagement sessions involving stakeholders are expected to be held over the issue.
Yesterday, Selangor local government and tourism committee chairman Ng Suee Lim reportedly said the state government is not ruling out the possibility of conducting urine tests on concertgoers.
Noting that the matter will be discussed at the state government’s meeting tomorrow, he added that scanning machines could also be used to prevent prohibited substances from being brought to a concert.
This comes after Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said on January 3 that police had suspended permits for concerts in the state.
Concert organisers, he said, have a responsibility to assure authorities that they can prevent drugs from being smuggled into their event venue.
Police have also said that the four dead individuals, aged between 20 and 40, had allegedly purchased the ecstasy drug suspected to have killed them at the Pinkfish concert in Sunway Lagoon, Subang Jaya.
However, authorities are still waiting on a toxicology analysis report for confirmation on the cause of death and other relevant details. – January 7, 2025
