Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) 2015 had promised the grandest electronic dance music festival ever seen in Singapore, but it was unceremoniously cancelled several days before it was due to take place after the government officially rejected the permits to hold it here.
The Ministry of Home Affairs never really elaborated why the music festival was disallowed at first, the Second Minister for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli explained in Parliament yesterday that it was due to the organisers being unable to assure the authorities that FMFA will be completely drug-free.
Masagos mentioned that the police and the Central Narcotics Bureau had engaged the organisers several times to assess FMFA's security plan, but organisers Livescape could not promise that they could lay down adequate measures to prevent drug-related activities at the event, Channel NewsAsia report.
He also added that the repeated drug-related incidents and deaths occurring across all Future Music Festival events in Malaysia and Australia also played a huge part in their consideration for the rejection of permits.
Last year, FMFA's third day in Kuala Lumpur was cancelled after six people died from drug overdose while 14 others were hospitalised. In Sydney earlier this year, hundreds of concert attendees were charged for possession and supplying drugs, while the Melbourne leg of the festival saw 50 drug-related arrests.
The accumulation of all the bad press has also driven the organisers of the Future Music Festival franchise to end all of the festival's operations.
Photo: Afiq Omar / FMFA Facebook page
Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) 2015 had promised the grandest electronic dance music festival ever seen in Singapore, but it was unceremoniously cancelled several days before it was due to take place after the government officially rejected the permits to hold it here.
The Ministry of Home Affairs never really elaborated why the music festival was disallowed at first, the Second Minister for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli explained in Parliament yesterday that it was due to the organisers being unable to assure the authorities that FMFA will be completely drug-free.
Masagos mentioned that the police and the Central Narcotics Bureau had engaged the organisers several times to assess FMFA's security plan, but organisers Livescape could not promise that they could lay down adequate measures to prevent drug-related activities at the event, Channel NewsAsia report.
He also added that the repeated drug-related incidents and deaths occurring across all Future Music Festival events in Malaysia and Australia also played a huge part in their consideration for the rejection of permits.
Last year, FMFA's third day in Kuala Lumpur was cancelled after six people died from drug overdose while 14 others were hospitalised. In Sydney earlier this year, hundreds of concert attendees were charged for possession and supplying drugs, while the Melbourne leg of the festival saw 50 drug-related arrests.
The accumulation of all the bad press has also driven the organisers of the Future Music Festival franchise to end all of the festival's operations.
Photo: Afiq Omar / FMFA Facebook page