Malaysia eyes anti-scalping law after My Chemical Romance frenzy, with tickets resold for 12 times face value
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said on Sunday (Aug 10) that her ministry is holding discussions with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) to review the issue, including the possibility of tabling a Bill, local media reported.
'The Communications Ministry has also engaged with event organisers and ticketing companies to find the most suitable solution to this issue,' she said at an event in Johor, as quoted by national news agency Bernama.
According to local news outlet Malay Mail, all 60,000 tickets for the Apr 30 concert at Bukit Jalil National Stadium were snapped up within four hours after going on sale on Jul 11. They quickly appeared online for resale at inflated prices.
In one case, a Zone C category ticket originally priced at RM499 (US$118) was offered for RM6,000, about 12 times its face value, local news site Free Malaysia Today reported.
Frustrated fans went online to air their grievances and call for measures to ensure fairness and transparency in ticket sales. Some suggested that purchases be tied to the buyer's valid identity card number.
Following the sell-out, organisers announced a second show on May 1, 2026. All 60,000 tickets for that date were also snapped up.
Malay Mail reported that the Aug 1 ticket sale for the second show went more smoothly than the first round in July, which was marred by website crashes and scalpers.
Several netizens had also complimented the organiser and ticketing platform for the 'seamless' ticket purchasing experience.
TAKING AIM AT SCALPING
On Aug 8, Teo chaired a meeting with KPDN representatives and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to discuss the matter.
In her Sunday remarks, the deputy minister said the session gathered input and proposals from agencies involved in monitoring and enforcing concert ticket sales, while also reviewing examples of anti-scalping laws from other countries, local media reported.
Teo noted that the scalping is especially prevalent at high-profile international concerts, citing examples such as that of K-pop star G-Dragon's show at Axiana Arena Bukit Jalil last month.
'Based on the complaints we received, there were fans willing to pay five times the ticket price because they really wanted to see G-Dragon,' Teo was quoted as saying by local news platform Berita Harian.
In the wake of the Jul 11 ticket sales, frustrated fans took to social media to air their grievances and press for fairer, more transparent ticketing.
'Please block all bots and limit purchases to a maximum of four tickets. Also, make sure the ticketing system is reliable and, most importantly, prioritise Malaysian IC holders,' one user wrote on social media platform X.
Malaysian English-language radio station Fly FM echoed the sentiment in an X post titled 'New rules we need for concerts in Malaysia', noting calls for bot-blocking systems and other safeguards during ticket sales.
'Let's stop scalpers and bring the fun back to concerts,' read the post, which has since garnered over 5,400 reposts.
Netizens have welcomed the government's move, with many urging swift action to protect genuine fans.
'Finally! Scalpers ruin it for real fans … hope this law helps,' one user wrote on X in response to the prospect of a bill targeting ticket scalping.
'We should adopt the same system used for flight tickets. Once purchased, the ticket should be tied to the buyer's name, ' another user wrote on Instagram.
This is not the first time the Communications Ministry has floated the idea of a national anti-scalping law.
In May 2023, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said his ministry was working with others to determine what legal provisions were needed to curb scalping or ticket touting.
His remarks came after numerous complaints that scalpers buying in bulk had made it difficult for fans to secure tickets to Coldplay's Kuala Lumpur concert, Malay Mail reported.
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