Malaysian Government bans Beyonce

Beyonce Knowles was ordered by conservative groups within the Malaysian government to basically, put on some clothes or no concert. Beyonce cancelled and moved her show to neighboring Indonesia. (Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, and Gwen Stefani have also allegedly been targeted by the Malaysian government as artists who fit the "negative influence" profile).


From western eyes, this may be seen as "ridiculous" and prudish. However, Malaysia is mainly an Islamic country whose government tries very hard to maintain traditional values. What may be the norm in the US, and even acceptable in neighboring Thailand and Indonesia, doesn't always go over well in Malaysia- at least in the eyes of the "authorities". However, there's No Doubt (lol) that cultural attitudes are changing, especially among young people in Malaysia. The internet plays a big role in this, and outside influences are hard to keep hidden from the youth. They have so much access to information from other parts of the world. There are far more dangerous things in my opinion than Beyonce's barely covered body, but I'd hate to think that young Malaysian folks would trade the music coming from their own rich cultural history for the music of Justin Timberlake. I am a Malaysian music fanatic. But maybe they, like me, want something different.