In a bid for Malaysia not to lose to Singapore, Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has a plan.

He has promised to bring Korea super boyband BTS to Kuala Lumpur for a performance, Malay Mail reported.

BTS to the rescue

Syed Saddiq made this comment to reporters on Tuesday, April 23 in Putrajaya.

He promised to do all he can to bring the K-pop group BTS to his country in 2020.

The boyish-looking youth minister, who is only 26 years old, also said Malaysia is losing out to Singapore as a destination for entertainment and that the stadiums there are being underused.

Syed Saddiq said: “Recently the biggest entertainment event we had was the Ed Sheeran concert and that went well. If people see that we’re capable of organising world class events it will attract investors."

“I do not want to be left behind Singapore anymore. We’ve seen fans will fly from all over to Singapore (for events) because we’re not competitive and we’re losing out on this revenue.”

Malaysia losing out to Singapore

The MP for Muar said the entertainment industry in Malaysia churns a revenue of S$5.43 billion (RM16.5 billion) every year.

He gave the example of the Malaysian MotoGP that attracts an average of 225,000 fans every year.

He said the revenue generated by PSM from organising world class events can be reinvested into the stadium’s upkeep and maintenance.

PSM is the Malaysia Stadium Corporation, the agency in charge of stadium operations including KL Sports City (Bukit Jalil).

AirAsia boss help

Syed Saddiq said he has tasked aviation mogul Tony Fernandes to deliver on this pledge.

Fernandes was appointed as chairman of Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) in 2018.

“I’ve just met with the promoter for the BTS event and we are in the negotiation phase. Our hope is to get BTS here for Visit Malaysia 2020,” Syed Saddiq said.

“I’ve tasked Tan Sri Tony Fernandes to deliver and this is one of his KPIs (Key Performance Index).”

BTS is also known as Bangtan Boys.

They are a seven-member South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment.