Malaysian rapper Namewee was brought to the Penang courthouse at about 10.25am on Monday (Aug 22) as police sought a remand order over his controversial music video Oh My God.
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George Town OCPD ACP Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, 33, was detained around 3.30pm to facilitate investigation on one of his video clips that went viral.
Claiming that Namewee insulted Islam in his latest production, 20 non-governmental organisations lodged police reports against the entertainer who is no stranger to controversy, having gained notoriety for some provocative videos earlier. But religious tensions have simmered in recent years, with Muslim moderates and followers of other religions expressing concern at a steady rise of conservative Islamic attitudes. Pork and its by-products are forbidden under the religion.
Several police reports were lodged against Wee over the music video alleging it to be against Islam.
In a separate video posted to his YouTube channel, Namewee explained that the song, which features Taiwanese band 911, was not meant to insult any religion, but was instead meant to promote harmony among those of differing faiths.
Singing in Mandarin Chinese, he rose to fame about five years ago and is also popular in Taiwan and China.
On Saturday, Namewee officially released his latest music video, “Oh My God!”, which featured various places of worship as backdrops and referred to religious terms in the lyrics.
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In the introduction to the video, which shows a Malaysian flag in the background, Namewee dedicated the song to “all Malaysians, especially the government”.
