Former Malaysian Youth and Sports minister says BTS were “so close” to performing in Kuala Lumpur before COVID-19

Syed Saddiq, a former Malaysian Youth and Sports minister has claimed that K-pop titans BTS were “so close” to performing in the country before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

• READ MORE: BTS at 10: how the world-conquering boyband evolved from hip-hop rookies to eclectic icons

Speaking to The Takeaway Table podcast, Saddiq – who served as Malaysia’s Youth and Sports minister from 2018 until 2020 – claimed that his team was “so close” to bringing in the K-pop group for a concert in Kuala Lumpur, before talks fell apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were so close. I remember – I think there was already an agreement because to bring in BTS, you have to put upfront quite a huge amount,” Saddiq explained.

Saddiq added: “But we know for a fact when they come, we will make the money back for sure. 110 per cent. Because not just people from Malaysia but from all over the region will come over. And then, COVID hit, and now I think two of them are already serving [in the military].”

Watch a clip of Syed Saddiq’s comments below.

@thetakeawaytable

who would have guessed that @Syed Saddiq is so up to date with BTS #bts #btsmalaysia #syedsaddiq

♬ original sound – The Takeaway Table – The Takeaway Table

Saddiq had previously revealed that he was hoping to bring BTS to Malaysia as part of the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign. In 2019, Saddiq said he “met with the promoter for the BTS event and we are in the negotiation phase”. To help with negotiations, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes was approached by Saddiq, with the then-minister claiming that landing a BTS concert would be “one of [Fernandes’] KPIs”.

The targetted Malaysia concert would have presumably been a part of BTS’ ‘Map of the Soul’ tour, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The closest BTS have come to perform in Malaysia so far was their 2019 Southeast Asian leg of the ‘Love Yourself’ tour. During that tour, BTS performed in Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand.

Currently, two members of BTS – Jin and JHope – are serving their mandatory military service in South Korea. The remaining members of BTS are also set to enlist within the next few years, with the boyband pausing all group activities for the time-being.

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