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Hype Malaysia
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
Latihan Pestapora Malaysia 2025 Review: A Festival Of Chaos, Thirst & Missed Expectations
Brought to life by Hitman Solutions and Boss Creator, Latihan Pestapora Malaysia 2025 made its debut at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, promising regional unity, genre-spanning brilliance, and the beloved Jakarta-born spirit of Pestapora. With over 25 acts, two stages, and a crowd of more than 25,000, it had all the makings of a landmark event. To be fair, the music did its job. Sheila On 7 made a loud, emotional comeback, .Feast brought the chaos, Dolla shone with polished pop power, and Pamungkas delivered smooth, heartfelt vocals. For a short while, the energy was electric. The crowd sang 'Dan' and 'Sephia' like their lives depended on it, swept up in a wave of nostalgia. If a festival was judged only by sound and feelings, this one would've nailed it – but then came the heat, the queues, and the mess, right on cue. A Water Crisis In The Middle Of A Sauna In a country where sweating is practically a birthright, you'd think hydration would top the festival's checklist. But no – only four official water stations were set up for a crowd of over 25,000. They were hopelessly understaffed, and supply clearly couldn't keep up with demand. What followed was a three-hour queue marathon just to maybe score a bottle – unless you were lucky enough to find someone reselling theirs at a markup, like some sort of desert bootlegger. Outside drinks? Strictly banned. Drinks bought from the official F&B vendors upstairs? Also banned from the concert zone. All while giant LED screens kept flashing 'Stay Hydrated' like a bad joke. Some fans reportedly fainted from the heat and dehydration, because apparently, surviving the crowd wasn't challenging enough – you had to fight for basic survival too. A Single Passage & Thousands Of Regrets There was only one passageway connecting the standing zones to the F&B area above, which also, for some reason, housed the second stage, 'Hingar Bingar.' It was supposed to feel intimate. What it actually felt like was a cruel social experiment in crowd control. I didn't even bother trying to go up. Not because I didn't want to – I just enjoy breathing and having personal space. Every glance at that human traffic jam was a hard pass. The crowd was packed, the energy was tense, and getting back down would've taken forever. So yes, a whole stage with acts I was genuinely excited about, and I saw none of it. Not because I skipped it, but because poor planning made it feel like a risk I wasn't willing to take. Premium Tickets, Discounted Experience The venue was divided into four zones – Rockzone (front standing), General Admission (rear standing), and CAT 1 & CAT 2 (seated). In theory, it sounded organised. In reality, Rockzone only had one entrance and exit, which quickly became a loophole. GA ticket holders strolled into the premium zone with little to no resistance, making that price tag feel more like a generous donation than an upgrade. Over in the seated zones, the sound quality dropped off a cliff. Audio was so muffled it felt like listening to your favourite band through a wall. The giant screens could've saved the experience, but instead, chose to show wide drone shots of the crowd while the artists were mid-performance. If you were hoping to catch a clear glimpse of Sheila On 7, you needed to be in Rockzone. Everyone else? They had to settle for blurry screens, muffled sound, and a lot of wishful thinking. Festival Essentials, Missing: Common Sense & Basic Decency Food at the festival was… limited, both in variety and in mercy. With only a handful of vendors serving the entire crowd, choices were scarce – and prices were laughable. Even if you skipped the fancy gourmet stuff, a basic serving of plain white rice with daging masak lemak cost RM25. Pair that with a 550ml bottle of Spritzer for RM5, and suddenly you're wondering if you accidentally wandered into a five-star buffet in the middle of a heatwave. But it wasn't just the fans paying the price. One performer shared that she had to carry a cello on foot for 1.2km to get to the venue – because apparently, a proper artist drop-off point was too much to ask. No loading zone, no access lane, just vibes and cardio. If this was meant to be 'Latihan,' then yes – we were all being trained. Just not for a concert. For survival. A Front Row Seat To Frustration Media access was a mess from the start. We were dumped into CAT 1, where the sound barely made it across and the performers looked like ants on stage. It felt less like covering a concert and more like watching a muted broadcast from the nosebleeds. So, to do my job properly, I ended up buying my own GA ticket – which also meant surrendering the media pass entirely, because re-entry? Not an option. That decision came at the cost of missing two and a half performances, all while navigating the maze between zones. It was a tiring, pointless loop that left me wondering why there was a media section at all if it wasn't even usable. If covering a festival requires a side quest and a second ticket, something's deeply broken. The Only Thing We Trained For Was Disappointment Latihan Pestapora Malaysia had all the right intentions. Bringing a celebrated Indonesian festival to local soil was meant to be a cultural milestone, a celebration of shared music and regional unity. The performances lived up to the hype. The artists delivered. But everything else felt carelessly stitched together, leaving fans to deal with long queues, dehydration, poor planning and a crowd flow system that barely made sense. Whatever magic the music created was constantly interrupted by logistical chaos. I went home that night not tired from dancing or singing along, but from standing in endless lines, searching for water, and trying not to lose my temper. The only real 'Latihan' that took place was on the audience's part – we trained in patience, discomfort and adjusting our expectations with every passing hour. If this was meant to prove Malaysia could host a festival of this scale, it missed the mark. Maybe next time, or maybe just leave it to Jakarta.
The Spinoff
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Event noticeboard: Slow fashion, 15 minutes of fame and a mud hole
The Spinoff's top picks of events from around the motu. I was very excited to stumble across The Old Parakao Store's event up north this Sunday. From the sounds of it, an excellent mud hole has sprung up on their mud drag circuit (a rough, muddy track to zoom 4x4s around on). The challenge is to be able to get your truck out. Their invitation is geared towards 4×4 drivers to come have fun in the mud. They've seemingly overlooked the fact that wusses who can't drive well and have long, low station wagons with little engines would love to watch the spectacle – just like many of us love a comedy show, but only from the stalls. I'm not sure if watching is participating exactly, but it can be important (no comedian thrives in silence) and it's thrilling! Dance, music, theatre: The Feast Lyttelton Arts Factory, 1 Sumner Road, Lyttelton 7:30pm Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13 $20-$30 The Lyttelton Arts Festival ends on Sunday, and even if you have already seen a show, you should go kiss it goodbye (for the year). It's got all the good things on show – music, dance, theatre, comedy and local talent. We know that Lyttelton is a little cauldron of talent and if you're nearby or able to travel this is an excellent chance to get a sip of it. The Feast looks especially lavish, because while it's listed in the dance category it also promises live music from members of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, a narrative played by actors and a lush set with food, candles, flowers and other alluring items of mise-en-scène. The immersive performance is staged as a dreamlike dinner party where a mother-daughter relationship evolves in unexpected ways. It's got a few heavyweight names behind it, including Fleur de Thier and Renee Ryan. Parakao Event: Mud Hole Challenge The Old Parakao Store Cafe/Bar, 2712 Mangakahia Road, Parakao 12pm Sunday, July 13 Free entry, grab food and drink at the store Can you drive out of the mud hole? Only 4x4s with knobbly tires and somewhere to attach a tow rope will be allowed to try. The rest of us can watch the carnage. Whangārei Market: S L O W Fashion Market turns one Whangārei Intermediate School, 32 Rust Avenue, Regent, Whangārei 10am Sunday, July 13 🎟️ Gold Coin Entry 'A birthday market to celebrate a year of slow fashion, community connection, and killer curated wardrobes.' Festival: Sandbox Fandom Festival Forum North, 7 Rust Avenue, Whangārei 10am Saturday, July 12 $12 A community run festival to share the love for everything geek – art, games, cosplay, animation, comics, music, tech and more! Tāmaki Makaurau Exhibition: 15 Minutes of Fame, The Killing Plomacy, 8 Brown Street, Ponsonby Central 11am – 3pm Fridays to Sundays until August 16 Free A new film made up of 15 one-minute scenes each directed by a different member of Aotearoa's coolest collective, The Killing. Wharenui Harikoa by Lissy & Rudi Robinson-Cole Experience: Wharenui Harikoa The Civic, Cnr of Queen Street &, 269-287 Wellesley St West, Auckland CBD 10am – 6pm daily until July 27 Free, book in advance to reserve your spot Step inside the stunning large-scale crocheted wharenui made by artists Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole. Hamilton Exhibition: SUSS 4 Artspost, 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central 10am – 4:30pm until August 9 Free Five artists visually explore how societal norms are woven into the fabric of everyday life. Napier Theatre: Before We Slip Beneath the Sea Greenmeadows East Community Hall, Tait Drive, Greenmeadows, Napier 7:30pm Friday, July 11 $35-$40 An award-winning play set in a community facing evacuation die to rising sea levels. Te Whanganui-a-Tara Music: Dateline With Elliott Dawson Parrotdog Bar, 60/66 Kingsford Smith Street, Rongotai, Wellington 8pm Saturday, July 12 Free 'Dateline's music oozes emotion by blending earnest harmonies that hark back to early 00's indie pop,' and 'Elliott Dawson plays angry art rock'. Volunteering: Community street clean Te Aro Zero Waste Centre, 2 Forresters Lane Wellington 12 pm Wednesday, July 16 Free. Litter pickers, hand sanitiser and buckets provided Join the Sustainability Trust for a lunchtime street clean around the waterfront. Wear comfy clothes and shoes, bring a hat and plenty of water. Blenheim Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe; Collection of Canterbury Museum Exhibition: Mauroa Marlborough Art Gallery, 15 High Street, Blenheim 10am – 4pm Tuesday – Friday, 1pm – 4pm Weekends until August 10 Free A mixed media exhibition developed by Rangitane o Wairau signifying long-standing presence and enduring commitment. Ōtautahi Comedy: Sanjay Patel, Stupid Little Andromeda Theatre, Level 1, 134 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch 7pm Friday, July 11 $15-$22 'Don't search my name online as any other appearances are most likely to be using deepfake technology.' Ōtepoti Music: Restless Leg, South by South tour The Crown Hotel, 179 Rattray Street, Central Dunedin 8pm Saturday, July 12 $10 Sydney band Restless Leg has crafted a unique sound on the continuum of intelligent, jangly, Antipodean guitar pop. Invercargill Visual Art: Sanctifying the Fog, Hazel Smith Whare Taupua, Arts Murihiku, 34 Forth Street, Invercargill 10am – 4pm Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 2pm Saturday until July 25 Free entry The exhibition uses symbols and the whimsical, elusive nature of the unknown to find a sense of peace.
Herald Malaysia
30-06-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Pope Leo XIV at Angelus: May unity be forged in witness and forgiveness
On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV highlights the enduring call to Christian unity, grounded in the shared witness of martyrdom and the transformative power of forgiveness. Jun 30, 2025 Pope Leo XIV during Angelus (@VATICAN MEDIA) By Linda BordoniOn the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV greeted pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square for the Angelus prayer and reflected on Christian unity, conversion, and the witness of martyrdom that binds the Church in a deep and often hidden communion. The Pope began by recalling the roots of the Church of Rome, founded on the testimony and blood of the Apostles Peter and Paul. He honoured their enduring legacy, linking it to the ongoing sacrifice of Christians around the world who suffer, and even die, for their faith in Christ. 'We can speak of an ecumenism of blood,' the Pope said, describing a unity forged not through theological agreements alone, but through the shared suffering of believers across confessional lines. 'This unseen yet profound unity among Christian Churches that are not yet in full and visible communion,' he added, is at the heart of his episcopal mission. 'The Church of Rome,' he reaffirmed, 'is committed by the blood shed by Saints Peter and Paul to serving in love the communion of all Churches.' Jesus is the true rock Reflecting on the Gospel and the foundational role of Peter, the Pope pointed to Jesus as the true rock: 'He is the rock rejected by the builders, whom God made the cornerstone.' He observed how the grandeur of the Papal Basilicas of Peter and Paul, now central to Christian identity, once stood at the margins of society. 'Outside the Walls,' he said, using the traditional Roman expression, is where their witness began, a reminder that Gospel greatness often begins in places the world deems insignificant. Pope Leo warned that those who follow Christ walk a difficult path, the path of the Beatitudes. He noted that poverty of spirit, meekness, and a thirst for justice are often met with opposition. Yet, it is precisely along this path that God's glory is revealed. 'God's glory shines forth in his friends and continues to shape them along the way, passing from conversion to conversion.' Sainthood is born of forgiveness He explained that sainthood is not born of perfection, but of forgiveness. 'The New Testament does not conceal the errors, conflicts and sins of those whom we venerate as the greatest Apostles,' the Pope said, adding that 'their greatness was shaped by forgiveness.' Just as Christ reached out to Peter and Paul time and again, he continues to call each person, not once, but repeatedly. 'That is why we can always hope. The Jubilee is itself a reminder of this,' he said. Concluding, the Pope called the faithful to become artisans of unity, beginning within families and local communities. 'Unity in the Church and among the Churches is fostered by forgiveness and mutual trust,' he said, "If Jesus can trust us, we can certainly trust one another in his name.' Finally, he prayed to the Virgin Mary and the Apostles Peter and Paul, with a call for the Church to be 'a home and school of communion' in a world still marked by wounds and division.--Vatican News
New Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Beauty, devotion, symbolism: London gets to see over 300 Pichvais in July
Cultural revivalist and founder, atelier Pichvai Tradition & Beyond, Pooja Singhal of Delhi is mounting over 300 artworks at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London known for curating figurative art from July 2-6. She grew up surrounded by textiles, objects, and stories; her mother was an avid collector of traditional Indian art. Her journey as a collector, curator, and aesthetician has been an organic extension of a lifelong relationship with Indian art and craft. A conversation: What is the theme of the upcoming London exhibition on pichwais? What is its aim as I am sure pichwais are not new in London or for a London audience given that its museums are rich in Asian / Indian art? My upcoming exhibition, titled Feast, Melody and Adornment at Mall Galleries in London this July, is a landmark moment for us, celebrating a decade of my atelier Pichvai Tradition & Beyond. It is the first time Pichwai artwork is being presented on this scale to a global audience - we are showing over 350 hand-painted works spanning a hundred years. To present it in the heart of London's art district is deeply gratifying; London has long appreciated Indian art, but this show invites viewers to experience Pichwai as a living tradition. The title draws from Raag (melody),, Bhog (feast), and Shringar (adornment, which are central to the Pushtimarg tradition and daily worship of Shrinathji. This triad shapes the structure of the exhibition, which includes both sacred historical works and more contemporary interpretations, including the Greyscale series and others (mentioned above) What makes this show particularly special is the venue itself. Mall Galleries is known for their curatorial excellence and their commitment to artistic mentorship and socially responsible patronage, both values that align with my own. Just as they support artists through education and exhibition, our atelier in Udaipur nurtures master artists, sustains intergenerational knowledge, and bridges heritage with contemporary relevance. This shared ethos of accessibility, sustainability, and ethical engagement makes Mall Galleries a fitting space for Pichwai's international foray. My hope is that this exhibition not only fosters deeper appreciation for the intricacy and devotion of the art form, but also opens up meaningful conversations about how traditional practices can thrive in today's cultural landscape. This ethos of accessibility, sustainability, and ethical engagement is at the heart of my practice. My hope is that this exhibition not only fosters deeper appreciation for the intricacy and devotion of the art form, but also opens up meaningful conversations about how traditional practices can thrive in today's cultural landscape. How many artists and artwork are being shown and what was the criterion of curation / selection? Over 350+ works are to be showcased at Feast, Melody & Adornment, that include traditional pieces of art as well as contemporary reimaginations.
AsiaOne
13-06-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
Popular Holland Village eateries Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Wala Wala Cafe Bar to shutter, Lifestyle News
When it comes to popular eateries at Holland Village, two places that probably often come to mind are Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Wala Wala Cafe Bar. But after decades of operations, both establishments are set to shutter. Crystal Jade announced the news on its website, along with a closing promotion called a 'Farewell Feast' at the outlet offering discounts of up to 30 per cent. "Join us for a limited-time Farewell Fest as we bid a warm farewell to our Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao Holland Village outlet," said the Chinese chain restaurant. Currently, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao has six outlets that remain open at Toa Payoh Mall, Bugis Junction, Jurong Point, i12 Katong, Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Hillion Mall. No reason was stated for the closure and Crystal Jade did not say when the restaurant's last day will be. AsiaOne has reached out for more details. Wala Wala, which has been at Holland Village since 1993, will be closing by the end of 2025. Owner Stanley Yeo told The Business Times (BT) in an interview that the lease for the unit ends this year. While there is no official closure date as he is in the midst of looking for a new tenant to occupy the space, the last day of operations would be in end-August at the earliest, he told BT. There were several reasons for the closure, including poor foot traffic, rising operational costs and a challenging labour market. AsiaOne has reached out to Wala Wala Cafe Bar. The closure of both establishments is among several other longstanding tenants that have exited Holland Village, including Thambi Magazine store, which shuttered in May last year after 80 years. Another closure was family-run furniture business Lim's Holland Village, which closed in November after 50 years. [[nid:718070]] melissateo@
