Good Vibes Festival: Class action insurance for vendors to prevent another Healy incident - Lawyers
SHAH ALAM - Following British band The 1975's blunder during the Good Vibes Festival 2023 on July 23, stakeholders and responsible parties are urged to take action to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
After The 1975's lead singer Matty Healy kissed bandmate Ross Macdonald and went on mocking the Malaysian government and the country's anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) laws onstage, the government instructed for the immediate cancellation of the three-day event.
Lawyer Datuk David Gurupatham said the government should set up a task force to plan for an insurance scheme that could benefit future organisers of events.
The scheme, he said could be used to compensate for the losses suffered by stakeholders if similar scenarios were to occur in the future.
"The situation that happened with Healy and The 1975 could not be solely attributed to the organiser as they have taken precautionary steps to mitigate arising problems.
"There was little that can be done by the organisers when Healy conducted himself poorly, as they had already made an agreement but was breached by the band," he told Sinar Daily.
Gurupatham who represented the festival organiser in a lawsuit over the incident explained that in order to receive a permit from the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (Puspal), the organiser have provided a set of standard operating procedures (SOP) which the band had agreed to adhere to.
However, despite all the agreements in place, many stakeholders had to suffer losses due to the festival's cancellation following the band's action.
Meanwhile, lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said both vendors and performers of the event could initiate legal action to seek for the recovery of the losses they suffered.
This, he said should be done especially for vendors that required visitors to conduct their businesses to generate profit.
He also said vendors should take action against responsible parties due to their inability to abide by the Letter of Undertaking (LoU).
Rafique said the mishap that happened at the Good Vibes Festival held at the Sepang International Circuit was caused by the incompetence of two parties which were the festival organiser and Puspal.
Puspal initially denied The 1975’s entry, but after an appeal, the band was eventually allowed to perform in the country.
While the organiser should be held accountable, the government should also be questioned due to their part in approving the permit, Rafique said.
"Moving forward, the government should refine and enforce better guidelines regarding international performing acts in Malaysia.
"This is a crucial step to be taken by the government because we do not want to be used as a medium for foreign performers to spread ideologies that contrast our nation’s values," he said when contacted.
It was reported that The 1975's performance at the Good Vibes Festival 2023 was halted after Healy behaved impolitely onstage.
The singer was accused of holding a bottle of alcohol and insulting Malaysian laws related to LGBT.
Following the incident, a group of lawyers was working probono on a class action suit by local artistes and vendors against the British band The 1975.
