Hannah Yeoh wants KL to compete with Singapore as regional concert hub

Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh has expressed her intent for Kuala Lumpur to rival Singapore in hosting major international concerts, aiming to prevent Malaysian fans from having to travel abroad.

As part of these efforts, Malaysia has introduced measures to lower regulatory and cost barriers, such as reducing security deposits for performers and launching the Concert and Event in Malaysia Incentives scheme.

This initiative aims to stimulate the local live entertainment market by attracting international acts and boosting tourism, although Kuala Lumpur must strategically position itself within the Southeast Asian circuit rather than directly compete with Singapore's established concert infrastructure.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Kuala Lumpur should compete with Singapore for major international concerts rather than have Malaysian fans cross the border to watch their favourite acts, Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh said, according to The Straits Times (ST).

“I want to compete with Singapore. Why should my people in Kuala Lumpur go to Singapore to watch concerts and not here? For me, I need to review my standard operating procedures. It’s not rocket science,” she told ST in a recent interview.

The comments come as Malaysia seeks to position Kuala Lumpur as a bigger player in Southeast Asia’s live entertainment market, with the government lowering regulatory and cost barriers for international acts.

According to ST, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in May reduced security deposits for foreign performers from RM30,000 to RM15,000, while deposits for local stage or cultural performances were cut from RM10,000 to RM4,000.

Malaysia also introduced the Concert and Event in Malaysia Incentives (CEMI) scheme in 2025, which provides qualifying international productions with a 30 per cent rebate on eligible local expenditure, capped at RM1.5 million.

ST reported that the scheme has an annual allocation of RM10 million and requires promoters to meet criteria involving Malaysian workers and vendors.

The measures have coincided with a growing concert calendar, with KL Headline Season 2026 bringing 25 major international performances to six venues, targeting more than 500,000 local and regional fans, ST reported.

Among the international acts scheduled to perform in Malaysia are The Weeknd and BTS, whose November and December shows have sold out, while 245 international acts have been approved to perform in the country this year.

Malaysia hosted more than 450 concerts nationwide in 2025, up from 104 in 2022, 335 in 2023 and 408 in 2024, generating nearly RM1.72 billion, according to figures cited by ST, according

Concert promoter Rohit Rampal told ST that the market was noticeably busier, with more promoters bringing international acts across different genres and venue sizes.

He said the challenge now was to determine whether audience demand and ticket sales could sustain the increased activity, while noting that international acts could bring regional fans to Malaysia.

ST reported that more than 5,000 ticket buyers from Thailand and Indonesia are expected to travel to Malaysia for Limp Bizkit’s December concert in Kuala Lumpur, highlighting the potential for concerts to drive tourism and spending beyond ticket sales.

However, industry players told ST that Singapore remained a major regional concert destination, with its established infrastructure and ability to attract large-scale stadium shows, while Malaysia’s opportunity was to strengthen the Southeast Asian touring circuit rather than simply replace its neighbour.

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联邦直辖区部长杨巧双表示，她希望吉隆坡能够与新加坡竞争，举办大型国际演唱会，以避免马来西亚歌迷不得不出国观看演唱会。

作为这些努力的一部分，马来西亚出台了降低监管和成本壁垒的措施，例如降低表演者的保证金，并推出了马来西亚音乐会和活动奖励计划。

这项计划旨在通过吸引国际演出和促进旅游业来刺激当地现场娱乐市场，但吉隆坡必须在东南亚巡回演出中占据战略位置，而不是直接与新加坡成熟的演唱会基础设施竞争。

吉隆坡，9月16日讯——据《海峡时报》报道，联邦直辖区部长杨巧双表示，吉隆坡应该与新加坡竞争举办大型国际演唱会，而不是让马来西亚歌迷跨境观看他们喜爱的表演。

“我想和新加坡竞争。为什么吉隆坡的居民要去新加坡看演唱会而不是在本地看呢？对我来说，我需要重新审视一下我的标准操作流程。这并不复杂，”她在最近接受《海峡时报》采访时说道。

马来西亚政府正努力将吉隆坡打造成为东南亚现场娱乐市场的重要参与者，并降低国际演出活动的监管和成本门槛。在此背景下，马来西亚发表了上述评论。

据《海峡时报》报道，吉隆坡市政厅（DBKL）在5月份将外国表演者的保证金从30000令吉减少到15000令吉，而本地舞台或文化表演的保证金则从10000令吉减少到4000令吉。

马来西亚还于 2025 年推出了“马来西亚音乐会和活动奖励计划 (CEMI)”，该计划为符合条件的国际制作项目提供符合条件的本地支出 30% 的回扣，上限为 150 万令吉。

《海峡时报》报道称，该计划每年拨款 1000 万令吉，并要求发起人满足涉及马来西亚工人和供应商的标准。

据《海峡时报》报道，这些措施恰逢演唱会日程日益增多，2026 年吉隆坡顶级演出季将在六个场馆举办 25 场大型国际演出，目标观众超过 50 万本地及周边地区的歌迷。

计划在马来西亚演出的国际艺人包括 The Weeknd 和 BTS，他们的 11 月和 12 月演出门票已售罄，而今年已有 245 个国际艺人获准在该国演出。

据《海峡时报》援引的数据显示，马来西亚在2025年全国范围内举办了超过450场音乐会，高于2022年的104场、2023年的335场和2024年的408场，总收入近17.2亿令吉。

演唱会推广人罗希特·兰帕尔告诉《海峡时报》，市场明显更加繁忙，越来越多的推广人带来了不同类型、不同规模的国际演出。

他表示，现在的挑战是确定观众需求和门票销售能否支撑不断增长的活动，同时指出国际演出可能会吸引区域粉丝来到马来西亚。

《海峡时报》报道称，预计将有超过 5000 名来自泰国和印度尼西亚的购票者前往马来西亚吉隆坡观看 Limp Bizkit 乐队 12 月的演唱会，这凸显了演唱会除了门票销售之外，还能带动旅游业和消费的潜力。

然而，业内人士告诉《海峡时报》，新加坡仍然是重要的区域演唱会目的地，拥有完善的基础设施和吸引大型体育场演出的能力，而马来西亚的机会在于加强东南亚巡演市场，而不是简单地取代其邻国。

研究发现，马来西亚每年因非法烟草贸易损失7.75亿美元，市场份额高达55%。

亚伦说，国家利益必须超越种族和宗教差异。

万朱奈迪在庆祝马来西亚日之际呼吁建立成熟、包容的马来西亚