DBKL Suspends Music Venue Angkasa Space’s Operations, Faces the Wrath of Malaysians on Social Media

This closure came just 2 weeks after the clamping down of TTDI’s notorious comedy venue, Crackhouse Comedy Club due to the viral stripping stunt. You can get a full view of that here.

DBKL was seen raiding the venue right before the Apollo 511 event, a hip-hop gathering that was set to feature upcoming stars Nakalness, Quai, Offgrid, Chronicalz and more. The closure forced hundreds of hip-hop fans to go home.

According to Zulhelmie (Elmi), one of the co-founders of the venue, the authorities came and sealed off the venue, allegedly due to licensing issues.

DBKL suruh setiap gig buat lesen hiburan. Lesen hiburan kena bayar deposit DBKL RM30k. Nak dapat balik RM30k tu, kena tunggu lebih 4 bulan.Aku pernah buat, bukan tak pernah. RM30k tu bukan untuk orang dalam scene kita. Amount tu besar kot.

— Uncle Elmi (@ELMIELMO) July 24, 2022

The fuel to the netizens’ wrath is the enormous RM30,000 deposit need to secure licensing for one event, which many describing it as nonsensical and archaic. The venue is reported to face a whopping RM50,000 fine.

30k setiap gig? Nonsense. Why is this country so so convenient at killing the art scene? This is frustrating beyond words.

— Puteri N. Balqis (@puteriarchy) July 24, 2022

Industry Malaysia semakin parah antara sebabnya benda macam ni.DBKL ni belanjawan tahunan lebih RM2 billion. Yang pegang adalah Menteri dari Perlis dan para birokrat. Do they even care about making KL better and more liveable? https://t.co/Cmm6v6ZNdW

— Tharma Pillai ? (@TharmaPillai) July 25, 2022

majlis bandaraya sumpah zalim nak charge lesen pun harga celaka https://t.co/VhFV1czk7L

— Abdul Hanan (@twt_hanan) July 25, 2022

kEnAPa sEnI di MaLAysIa tAk mEMbaNGunNAK MEMBANGUN MACAM MANA WAKNAT KALAU YANG KAT ATAS RETI NAK SEKAT SAHAJA TEMPAT SENI MACAM INI https://t.co/ii5IJC9Xcm

— Ariff Naq ??? (@aaron_ariff) July 24, 2022

Wtf…they’re killing the scene with this enormous unnecessary deposit amount! https://t.co/e0joifoIoJ

— NoName (@letsjamjen2) July 24, 2022

At one given time, Angkasa Event Space can only house 200 participants with tickets ranging from RM20 to RM70 depending on the performers' roster. Fronting RM30,000 as a deposit per event means a total of RM120,000 per month if the venue hosts a gig per week, which is an exorbitant number for small gig organizers and venue owners.

However, Malaysian event organizers, bands and fans have rallied together in solidarity with Elmi and the Angkasa Space Team with suggestions of crowdfunding the RM50,000 fine.

Jom buat #MalamTributeAngkasa ? Tiket RM50 X 1000 crowd lepas dah bayar saman untuk buka Angkasa Space balik ?

— aiman (@haiqalamn) July 24, 2022

Angkasa Event Space hosted numerous sold out shows over the years, including the much-talked about Malam Galau Indonesia, the Fake Your Death MCR Tribute gig, a number of international concerts, the After Love and more. The Space was also schedule to host a Merdeka gig, but is now cancelled due to the closure.