Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia cancelled a concert by Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne with just one week's notice, saying her act would not instill "good culture" in the youth, a minister said Wednesday. The 23-year-old Canadian pop star was scheduled to hold her first concert in the Muslim-majority nation August 29 in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
The timing of the concert, two days before the country's independence day and just ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was a chief reason for the cancellation, Shafie Apdal, minister of unity, culture, arts and heritage, was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.
Shafie said Lavigne's act would be unsuitable alongside local cultural performances during the National Day celebrations.
Concert organizers insisted over the weekend that the show would go on, in spite of calls by certain groups to cancel the performance.
Earlier this month, the youth wing of Malaysia's hardline opposition Islamic party demanded Lavigne's concert be banned.
