Malaysian Student Defends YouTube Rap Video Of Negaraku

A Malaysian Chinese student has defended posting a racially provocative rap video of the national anthem on YouTube that enraged ethnic Malays, saying he was merely exposing the truth in his music, according to a report Thursday.

"I'm simply reflecting the truth about our society through my music and I did not mean to offend anyone by producing such a video clip. I still love my country," Wee Meng Chee, 24, was quoted as saying The Star newspaper.

Wee has come under fire for mocking the national anthem and using racial slurs in his rap video posted on the Internet site last month, which sparked a flood of abusive criticism from Malays but expressions of support from the ethnic Chinese community.

The divergent responses expose the deep divisions in the multiethnic country, where minority Chinese and Indians have long resented the privileges that the majority Muslim Malays receive in jobs and education under an affirmative action program.

Wee, who is studying at the Ming Chuan University in Taiwan, insisted he was patriotic and didn't mean to be seditious or to attack the government, The Star newspaper said.

More than half a million people have viewed the six-minute clip, in which Wee blends the national anthem, "Negaraku," with a rap song that bemoaned discrimination that Chinese face in Malaysia.

He also poked fun at Muslim morning prayers broadcast from mosques, corrupt policemen and laid-back civil servants, who are mostly Malays. Some of the lyrics implied that Malays are arrogant and Chinese are hardworking.

Officials have said they are investigating whether Wee has flouted the Sedition Act, which carries a maximum prison term of three years.

But Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Thursday that the government does not have plans to recall him from Taiwan, or the means to do so. "We can recall him if he is on a government scholarship," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama. "If a Malaysian citizen commits something unlawful under Malaysian law in a foreign land, we cannot recall him or her."

At best, police can take steps toward filing charges against him, he said.

The Star quoted Wee as saying that he wrote the song in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th independence on Aug. 31, describing it as his "gift" to the country.

He said he had removed the video from the Web site after receiving negative responses but it was uploaded again by some other supporters, the newspaper said. His face can be clearly seen in the video and he sings with the Malaysian flag as a backdrop.

Such direct lampooning of a race in public is highly uncommon in Malaysia, where the three main ethnic groups have lived peacefully together since racial riots on May 13, 1969, left at least 200 people dead. (International Herald Tribune)

***** Attempting to "merely expose the truth" with his music is one thing but to be seen as scoffing at the national anthem while "simply reflecting the truth about our society" and then claiming to be 'patriotic' demonstrates remarkable naiveté and downright stupidity.

The direct beneficiary of this silly act is the government, especially Umno. They were looking around for a good cause which they could employ to rally all the Malays behind them. The usual sandiwara stuff has not been very successful thus far. Now this golden opportunity has landed on their collective laps and you can be sure it will be milked dry at the appropriate time.

Wait and watch as the self-appointed guardians of bangsa, agama dan negara start spitting their venom, no thanks to this idiot in Taiwan.
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