Palestine still in our hearts, say Coldplay concert-goers

In the lead-up to the Coldplay concert last night, some community leaders urged for its cancellation, arguing that it is disrespectful amid the violence in Gaza.

However, attendees at the band's ‘Music of The Spheres World Tour’ met by Malaysiakini at the Bukit Jalil Stadium last night said that going to the concert does not mean they disregard the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli bombardment since Oct 7.

Siti Zubaidah told Malaysiakini she was only spending a few hours attending the British band's show while she has been spreading awareness over what was happening in Palestine on a daily basis since the violence kicked off over a month ago.

“The concert is only for a while. At other times every day, we are active in spreading our support to Palestinians on social media.

“So attending this entertainment event for a while does not mean we have forgotten Palestine,” she said the 25-year-old who attended the concert with her friends Izyan Hannani Mohd Rozaimi and Iqmal Zulkifli.

Nasrul Jefri, 30, meanwhile said he and four friends had purchased the pricey tickets even before the latest round of violence broke out in the Middle East.

As such, he said that his attendance last night did not dilute his solidarity with Palestine.

“Attending the Coldplay concert does not mean we don't care about the Palestine issue. We are still concerned about the misfortune that has befallen them,” he said.

Suzane Jamie, 40, travelled from Penang to attend the concert with her friend Tony Kadir, who came over from Sarawak.

They feel it was unreasonable to call for the concert's cancellation on the basis of politics.

“Don't conflate entertainment with politics,” she said.

Nur Shikin Aseri, 38, who attended with her husband, Zainur Rijal is relieved the government didn't buckle to pressure to cancel the show.

“I am so happy for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We only managed to buy tickets last Sunday,” she said.

Ticketless fans picnic outside stadium

Coldplay sold out its only concert in Malaysia at the 85,000-person capacity venue, but the band is playing multiple nights in other countries in the region.

The band and event even received endorsement from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who lauded Coldplay's support for Palestine.

During the show, frontman Martin thanked the fans for waiting 27 years for Coldplay to perform in Kuala Lumpur.

Many who could not get tickets for the KL show were seen camping out outside the stadium, to listen to the live show from outside.

Sie Kaiwen, 24, and Nicole Lim, 39, said they tried to get tickets twice - when the first round of sales opened in May and again last week - but failed.

“In May, I took a day off from work just because I wanted to try to get the tickets online but didn't manage to,” said Sie.

As such, die-hard fans like Sie decided to park themselves outside the stadium as early as 4pm - four hours before the show started - to at least hear the live music. They brought along mats and foldable chairs to sit on.

“We had no choice, even hearing the sound is enough for us,” said Sie, who also braved the rain.

Entrepreneur, Mel Subhi Kamaruzaman, 33, has another reason to be thankful the show went ahead.

Mel was among small traders who opened stalls near the Bukit Jalil LRT station, which connects to the concert venue, to serve concert-goers.

“I am thankful to the Madani government because these concerts allow me to supplement my income.

“The revenue is quite good, even though the number of sales is slower than expected,” said Mel, who took two days off from his day job to open up the stall selling Coldplay-related merchandise.

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