Music and its festival do not kill people. People kill people.

When I wrote an article entitled “Why Malaysia, are we still not ready for international events?” last Thursday, I was surprised by the comments we got on our Facebook comment box.

It is apparent that many Malaysians, especially Malays blamed the festival for the fatal deaths of the six festival goers on March 14.

The Malay version of it received 212 comments (at that point when I checked), out of which almost probably 200 comments blamed the music or the festival for deaths, social ills and some even for the natural disaster.

Most commented that it was un-Islamic.

But, what is so Islamic about the 'brutal' language and profanity used in commenting and condemning these music festivals?

Some even commented that music is deemed as ‘haram’ but the last I checked there is no text in the Quran forbidding singing and music. Even the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to listen and singing to music and enjoined this at Eid, marriages and other joyous occasions.

Also, according to these keyboard warriors, music festivals have caused the earth to go all crazycausing flash floods and tornadoes.

Realistically, music and music festivals do not kill people. People kill people.

The fatal incident happened due to an alleged bad batch of party pills distributed to a certain group that night. It is not the festival’s fault that we have a number of irresponsible punters.

Blaming the festival for their deaths is like blaming the automobiles for deaths caused by accidents.

Research by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) showed that an average of 18 people are killed on Malaysian roads daily. Does that mean we stopped importing cars and stop the usage all together?

Music does not kill people. In fact, music brings people together. It does not matter what your poison is – EDM, rock and roll, pop, R&B, hip-hop or even religious.

Wherever there are people, there is bound to be music. From the day we were born, even in our mothers’ wombs, music via lullaby is the first thing that bonds the a parent to the child.

So why are we blaming the music for the goodness it brings to us?

For me, music festivals and concerts is the time when I gather with my friends and families from all over the world. It gives me the avenue to escape from the all the stress in life and to just let loose with people you love.

Music festival day is also a date night for me and my husband. Aside from our anniversary, festivals and concert night gives us the liberty to bond, strengthen and reignite the ‘fire’ in our relationship just like when we were younger. And we plan to bring our children too in the future (when they are old enough of course).

I have friends from the States, Australia and even from the UK who plan and chart their holidays to Malaysia, just for the music festival like FMFA and the Rainforest Music Festival in Kuching.

Don’t get me wrong, I am the least concerned about these comments. Really, I don’t take any of them seriously.

It’s just that I am trying to comprehend when have we turned to be a society that is so shallow and narrow in the minds?

Since when did Malays become a bunch of crude and judgemental lots with our provocative and vulgar statements, that we forgot to be kind to each other?

That we’d rather be stuck in the Neanderthal age and backwards, back to when music was deemed to be unlawful and sinful instead of embracing the beauty and the poetry that music represents.

It is already a huge challenge to bring these international acts in with all the red tapes and long winded policies.

But I guess it is even harder to make Malaysians understand the importance of being at the global stage of things.

And hardest would be changing mindsets – from the severity of our close and narrow mindedness to open up positively and look at the bigger picture of it all.

Thank you FMFA for all the joys you have brought, may you return soon to our humble land of diversity.