6 dead, 15 hospitalized – Music festival out of control?

By: Sarah, Bella, Nadia & Tarra

BUKIT JALIL: Kuala Lumpur's long awaited music festival Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) cancelled on its third day after a drug-induced overdose befell a number of spectators leaving six locals dead, many hospitalised and 19 arrested, including foreigners.

FMFA is an annual music festival that features mainly Australian and other international artists and began in major cities of Australia since 2006 and in 2012, spread to Kuala Lumpur. FMFA 2012 was attended by over 20,000 people and the event is usually held annually in late February - early March

This year’s FMFA was the third of its kind in Malaysia and was expected to attract over 75,000 people compared to that of previous years.

To Go or Not To Go?

Music festivals may be seen as nothing new. However, they are getting more popular than ever - attracting fans that travel far and wide to attend such events for the fun of the experience and in support of their favourite International artistes. Hashtag spoke to some of those who are fans of such programs to understand why.

John, 24, said,” It's like homecoming and everyone is tremendous and friendly. It brings a feeling of togetherness. It also helps us to put our minds to rest by taking off time to have a little bit of fun and forget about our problems for a while."

Shania, 28, said," I would not miss it for anything, I get to hang out with my friends and let go and get a little crazy as am always busy with work."

Rawan Elkomi, 20, said he loves going to raves “to let loose and forget about whatever is going on.” “At raves you're in a whole new world and nothing matters except the music,” he adds.

However not all members of the community feel the same way about music festivals.

Halimah, 23 said “Such events are too hot, humid, and crowded. It is also not healthy due the smoke from all sorts of things that people smoke there. At the end of the day, I have messy and foul smelling hair to deal with so I would rather find something else to do for fun."

Farouk, 23, said," I would like to attend the festival but my father dislikes the whole idea of youth being out on their own in fear of them engaging in drugs, toxic substances and other behaviours. I have to respect his word and I think he is only being protective."

Natalie Obur, 21, was asked if she attends raves and this is what she had to say. "No, I don’t attend raves. I don’t have a specific reason but its more about safety and the fact that I’ve never actually had anyone convince me to go. There’s usually people under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and you never know what might happen. Besides, there are other ways I can have fun.  I am glad I don't have friends that might influence me to go for such events."

Eva Yong, a student at SEGi University, does not see the point in attending rave concerts. “Why rave with a bunch of sweaty strangers when you can do it in the comfort of your own home?” she says.

Atmosphere

We tracked down some of those who attended this year’s FMFA to get an insight on the atmosphere and occurrences within the Festival grounds.

Aly 21, described her time there in detail by saying “In the venue, there were different rides to for us to enjoy, such as Ferris wheel, bull rider and more. In order to commemorate the event, there was also photo booth around the corner to snap pictures with friends. There was also food catered for a wide range of audiences. Theeven set up famous fast food restaurants like Pizza Hut, Ayamas, and Burgerlab”

Rawan Elkomi, 20, said “Yes I attended and I had the most amazing experience. I saw everyone having a good time and dancing around to the music”

Joshua, 23 noticed that some people in attendance seemed to be under the influence of intoxicating substances. ”There was a guy shaking his head nonstop, and he would keep hitting us without realizing that we're annoyed by his actions. Before leaving the festival, we saw a guy passed out near the dustbins at the entrance. The paramedics were assisting him. We took the train home and in the train, there were a group of foreign people screaming and shouting. It was a fun moment in which we joined in as well.”

Noon Imad, one of the concert goers, said, “I saw a boy being dragged by his friends, as he couldn’t stand on his feet at all. I saw many people just lying on the floor.” “I didn’t hear about designer drugs but I know that there are drugs involved in raves,” she says.

Rave – Drug Relationship

To understand further the correlation of substance abuse and music festivals, Hashtag tracked down one such party who would have insiders intel. DJ Ramsey Westwood, the winner of the Malaysia Astro Hitz spin master season 2 and also a graduate from the music productions like Point Blank Studios, London was one of the performers on the first day of FMFA. Being one of the country’s top DJs and a regular at similar events, we asked him about drug usage during these events. “The overdose cases during festivals is actually pretty common, as it usually happens during big festivals all over the world,” he said.

There were multiple cases of drug overdose during the FMFA of 2013 and in other events previously held in Malaysia.

Dr. Mahmud Mazlan, who runs multiple clinics that specialize in drug abuse therapy, believe that this recent overdose may have been caused by mephedrone, a new party drug. “Mephedrone and Eramin-5 have overtaken ecstasy as the two most popular drugs at rave parties as these have a stronger effect,” he says.

Having not being included under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Mephedrone is also legal in Malaysia. It is believed that it is advertised and sold on social media sites and other internet-based domains. Mephedrone has been banned in numerous countries for being responsible for overdoses and death.

Blame game and Immediate Reaction

When something negative occurs, us humans tend to try and pinpoint the party responsible for the event to explain why it happened. The highlights of the news and the general public via social media have been focused on the ravers, the organizers, the consumption of the drugs and its resulting overdoses. Many have accused it to be due to lax parenting and absorption of western cultures. Many netizens have responded similarly, declaring that the cost of such events are too high.

Political parties have also taken stands on this matter. Following the drug overdose, Selangor PAS Youth urged for the event, Life in Color, be banned and that the government should not give approvals for programs that may prove counterproductive to the participants. 

Life in Color, which was to be the world’s largest paint party and scheduled to be held on the 9th of March in Sepang, was indeed cancelled and all ticket holders were guaranteed a full refund.

However the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, pointed out that banning concerts and other events will not stop recreational drug use elsewhere. He continued saying that other measures that will effectively resolve the problem need to be carried out.

But what then to do?

Shankar Thiruchelvam, a psychologist who practices at multiple mental health centers, believes that the incident at FMFA is not as cut and dry as it appears.

Better enforcement and checking will help prevent this from happening in similar future events but will not address the root of the problem, as it is only a symptomatic handling of the issue, he says.

Shankar highlights that there is a specific psychological profile of ravers. “Basically what you’re looking at is a sensation-seeking driven personality. Sensation seekers have hyper vigilant tendencies and a willingness to try anything to give them a rush.” He elaborates that ravers tend to seek out situations that bring about thrill, excitement and a heightened state of arousal.

“The root of this,” he believes, “lies in the family”. Healthy parent-child relationships and secure attachment bonding helps meet the needs of children as they grow, which greatly affects their personality. Achieving this requires proper famial education, he stresses.

With the drugs, however, he states that it is a socio-political issue. “The politics support its usage (drugs) and is driven by the money that is gotten from drug behavior and consumption, which is high”. He adds that as regulations are lax, this combination allows for widely available drugs.

Reports indicate that during FMFA, drugs could be easily procured from the nearby LRT station and the car park.

As for the governments reaction, he understands that it was due to more potential harm, but states that it was still from a reactive stand point. “If X happens, you do Y. But why did X happen?” says Shankar.

“A symptomatic approach, such as to hang a few people and have new laws, is not going to change much,” he adds.

Dr. Shankar underlines that this problem cannot be dealt with in one strata of the society. As with any medical problem, only treating its symptoms bring a temporary relief, before it surfaces again.

Every facet of social political orientation as well as social belongingness needs to be conditioned to change this. This includes family, community, culture, law enforcement, regulation, and educational awareness, especially that of children.

What he says is most needed of these is an education of the masses, but it is important to know what to educate them with and at what level the education should take place.

But this cycle can only be broken by analyzing all aspects of the problem, identifying the root cause(s) and then changing it.

“Overall we need a social political change and this requires a complete revamp of the system. When asked if he means that Malaysia needs a revamp, he states that “Malaysia needs a revolution.”

Hence, the incident at FMFA – the drug usage and the resulting deaths – is not something that is to be blamed on the concert goers, the music festival or the organizers. The root problem lie in the dynamic mechanics of our society. Only by addressing this and having the courage to change it, can anything truly be resolved. Malaysia, is it then time for a revolution?