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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Nazri defends controversial rapper Namewee


By Patrick Lee

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz has defended rapper Wee Meng Chee – better known as Namewee – over his controversial music video.

In a show of support for the Mandarin-speaking rapper, Nazri said that Wee's lyrics, though harsh, did not break any of the country's laws.

“As a man of law, I have looked at all the cases and I agree with the Attorney-General's Chambers that Namewee has not committed any offence with which we can charge him under Malaysian law,” he said at his office in Parliament today as Wee looked on.

Wee was invited to see Nazri who called for a press conference to clear the rapper's name.

"I don't look at him as a racist or a politican," Nazri said, adding that Wee's only intention was to bring his message to his peers through music.

"You've done nothing wrong," he told rapper, who sat facing him. "You have nothing to worry about."

Speaking to the press, a nervous-but-relieved-looking Wee said that he had no intention of hurting the public through his videos.

"I admit some of the videos are controversial, especially with social issues. But I have no intention of hurting anyone," he said.

Even so, the rapper was not too pleased with the coverage of him in the mainstream media. "The mainstream media always chose to highlight my controversial videos, and made me into someone that I am not, like a hantu!" he said.

Near-instant hit

In August, Kulai headmistress Siti Insyah Mansor allegedly told the non-Malay students in her school to go back to China and India. She was also said to have uttered: “If I were to helm the government, I will instead allocate 70% wealth for Bumiputera and only 30% for non-Bumiputera.”

In response to Siti Insyah's remarks, Wee then uploaded a three-minute rap song titled “Nah!!” on YouTube, heavily condemning the headmistress.

A near-instant hit on the web, the video became one of the country's most popular online videos. While the rapper received a lot of support for his video, many others were not amused with his song, and bayed for his blood.

Almost immediately after his video was released, several police reports were made against the rapper, which led to his case being investigated under the Sedition Act, and sent to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Other more extreme reactions came from hardline Malay NGO Perkasa, which promptly burned posters of Wee while calling him “pig” and “traitor”.

Nazri also advised the press to refrain from unnecessarily portraying Wee in a bad light.

“Namewee has been grossly misunderstood and misrepresented by some of the media,” the minister said.

“He is not what people think he is – anti-government or anti-Malay. If we hear about Namewee doing something, we shouldn't listen to people and jump the gun before making our own conclusion. I hope that the media will bring down the anger directed against him,” Nazri added.

The minister also said that many were not happy with his decision not to throw the book at Wee, and go for the errant headmistress instead.

'Law is the law'

However, that did not seem to faze the outspoken Padang Rengas MP. “I have already made the statement, and of course many are still unhappy with it, but the law is the law,” he said.

“The only person who can take any action against him is the headmistress whom he allegedly said something obscene (against),” Nazri said, adding that others had no right to force her to take action against Wee.

He added that to date, the headmistress had not taken up a case against the rapper. “She probably wants it settled once and for all,” he said.

Asked on Wee's way of expressing himself, Nazri replied: "Every generation has its own way. He knows best how to send the message to his generation. It should be in the form of songs and it can reach the present generation with his way."

Nevertheless, he said that the censorship board would have to play a role if a message was deemed obscene.

"If you are critical, that's all right, but if you're obscene, then no," he said, adding that Wee was still young, and that characteristic might have contributed to his frankness.

“He is a young man. They (young people) are frank. Our generation is also obscene. It's the same, so there's no need to be a hypocrite,” Nazri quipped. - FMT

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