Malaysian Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Mohammed Shafie says Canadian singer Avril Lavigne's Aug. 29 concert at Kuala Lumpur's 45,000 capacity Stadium Merdeka has been postponed.
"The concert cannot be held on Aug. 29 as it clashes with the National Day celebrations," Shafie said in a statement.
Malaysia celebrates its 51st year of Independence on Aug. 31. The show was to kick off Lavigne's Asian tour.
Shafie denied that the ministry's decision was based on the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party Youth Council's call earlier this month to ban the show because "she is a bad influence on our youth", as reported on Billboard.biz (Aug. 13).
Billboard understands that Kuala Lumpur-based concert promoter Galaxy Group will appeal against the decision and that it has yet to decide whether to request a new date for the concert.
Shafie says Galaxy failed to obtain the required government permit before promoting and selling tickets to the Lavigne concert.
Ministry officials confirm that a final decision on Lavigne's concert will be made next week.
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