Malaysia... Notoriously Modest?

I stumbled upon a picture of Katy Perry in the Fashion Police photo gallery on E! online a while back. It had been quite some time now but I'd only just remembered it.

This picture was taken when Katy Perry was visiting my home country, Malaysia, where she was slated to perform on MTV World Stage along with Tokio Hotel in July 2010.

What's wrong with this picture? Nothing really... *besides the obvious fact that she look alarmingly conservative compared to her usual choices of blue wigs and cupcake bikini top these days!* No, there's nothing wrong with this picture, what's wrong is the caption next to this picture on E! online. Click here to view.

The caption refers to Malaysia as being a "notoriously modest country", which in my opinion is not exactly an accurate description for it. Believe me, I've lived here all my life and "modest" is not quite the right word to describe Malaysia let alone "notoriously modest". I don't blame E! online for reporting it incorrectly though, since not a lot of people understands Malaysia... Heck, not a lot of people even heard of Malaysia!

And so...

I'm here to set the record straight...

You see, the idea of Malaysia being an ultra conservative country came about when artists from outside of Malaysia came to perform here. Before they come, stars such as Gwen Stefani and The Pussycat Dolls were reportedly given a disclose description by the government regarding the amount of skin that should be covered up.

The thing is, the government has a strict policy regarding how female performers should dress and behave on stage. But clearly, this policy only applies to international artists. If you attend a concert by local artists or any other performances for that matter here in Malaysia, the locals were not pressured by authorities to cover up when they perform. Hence, I think it's pretty hypocritical of them.

Malaysians fan were saddened *myself included* when Beyonce had to cancel her Malaysian leg of her world tour due to complications from such policies. I don't blame Beyonce for cancelling her concert here, the government's demand is pretty ridiculous in my opinion.

A similar situation happened to Avril Lavigne too. As of now, female artists tried to steer clear from the possibilities of performing here.

Just because we have a strict government, it doesn't mean that the people here lack freedom of expression. If you're walking down the streets of Malaysia, chances are, you might even come across people that make Taylor Momsen look like a kitty cat.

Beyonce, if you're reading this... *very unlikely!* I would like to say that MALAYSIA LOVE YOU! *but our government... I think they prefer Justin Bieber!*