Sea of people: Long lines and overcrowded entrances are a common sight outside event venues in the country. Better crowd control and management of facilities are high on the wish list for many fans.
PETALING JAYA: With large-scale events back in full force after the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions, concert-goers and football fans are all eager to join in on the fun.
However, they remain cautious and want better crowd control and security measures, in addition to having such events in a more organised manner.
Their concerns are well-founded, with news of the disastrous stampede at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia last year that left at least 135 dead still fresh in their minds.
Late last month, a reader of The Star with the pseudonym “Why Pay and Suffer” wrote in to relate his exasperation after attending the AR Rahman concert held at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Jan 28.
He claimed that the needs of paying customers in terms of safety and comfort were disregarded.
The things that rankled him most were a lack of mobile toilets, improper crowd management, insufficient signage and a disorganised seating arrangement.
Public relations executive Nurul Fazilah Kamal, 30, who attended the same concert, said organisers should have a special lane for the elderly, pregnant women and disabled folks.
Nurul Fazilah, who is pregnant, said the lines were too long and congested, which made the overall experience uncomfortable.
“There were no barricades at each gate entrance, the queue was long and endless until people did not even know where it started from. Ideally, they should have different entries for each ticket category.
“Parking also was scarce, so people ended up parking by the highway. The LRT was also packed with most people unable to get to the concert in time.
“To top it all off, the toilets were far away even though there were mobile ones provided near the entrance, so I held on until the concert ended,” she said.
She added that there were many vendors who were selling overpriced food and beverages.
For student Muhammad Idris Shah, however, the AR Rahman concert was better than he had expected.
“It was more organised and the event team was helpful in showing us the way to our seats, but the toilet was a bit packed though it was in good condition.
“Gate C was full because that area is where you can get the best and clearest view of the concert. So, the allocation of seats was more on that side compared to other areas.
“Ideally, they should have utilised the stadium’s full capacity rather than just half because more seats would have been available at every gate. This would have caused less congestion and long queues,” said the 21-year-old.
Civil engineer CK Chan, who attended the Jay Chou concert on Jan 15, said it took him almost 45 minutes to reach the Bukit Jalil LRT station from the stadium after the concert ended.
“There was only one gate opened for each zone and it was a shoulder-to-shoulder situation all the way to the LRT station.
“Crowd control was practically non-existent with the situation akin to ‘every man for himself’,” said the 27-year-old who attended the concert together with a group of friends.
“Exiting the stadium was also a big difference compared to when entering, where it only took less than 15 minutes to reach our seat,” he said.
He added that the toilets were in deplorable condition with the floors being flooded and stalls left clogged from the sheer volume of people using them.
Engineer Willy Kuay Wei, 25, meanwhile, said he had a positive experience when attending the Billie Eilish concert held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium last year.
“It was a smooth sailing experience all the way from start to finish. The only exception was that I had a water bottle confiscated before being allowed entry.
“Some of the friends I attended with, however, said that the stage was too far when compared to the seat map, which made it a less satisfactory experience for them,” he said.
“At the same time, there should be more efforts to organise concerts in East Malaysia, which has a lot of potential,” said the Sabahan based in Kuala Lumpur.
An avid football fan who wanted to be known only as Abdullah, 32, related a negative experience where he lined up for over seven hours to buy tickets for the national football team game in 2017.
“We reached the Shah Alam Stadium at 9am and saw there was a long snaking queue until the ticketing counters.
“The lines also stretched for quite a distance and it was also very uncomfortable since we were lining up under the hot sun.
“Unfortunately, tickets ran out halfway into the queue and we were informed that more tickets were coming but we still didn’t manage to get any despite spending an entire day there,” he added.
Other instances of overcrowding in Malaysia were reported during the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final between Malaysia and Vietnam in 2018.
