PETALING JAYA: A Singapore rapper, Subhas Nair who is accused of threatening racial harmony in the city-state has been dropped from an upcoming music documentary with news channel CNA over his appearance in a rap video responding to an advertisement featuring a Chinese actor whose skin was darkened to portray an Indian man.
According to CNA, the documentary was meant to feature four Singaporean musicians including Nair.
However, Subhas was dropped from the programme following the release of the rap video which used four-letter words and obscenities about Chinese people.
“CNA strongly objects to all such offensive content which threatens racial harmony and will not associate with individuals who intentionally create such content,” the news provider was quoted as saying.
The video was made by Subhas’ sister, comedian and YouTube performer Preeti Nair. It shows the siblings ranting against the ad by e-payments website epaysg.com.
The ad features Mediacorp actor Dennis Chew, who portrayed an Indian man, a Muslim woman, a Chinese man and a Chinese woman.
The rap video was uploaded to social media on Monday but removed a day later. Singapore police said in a statement that a report had been lodged against it for “offensive content”.
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam meanwhile told the local media that the video “crosses the line” and is “not acceptable”.
Singapore has strict laws to curb hate speech, including the Sedition Act, which punishes those who “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes” with a jail term of up to three years and a fine. - FMT
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