“wee meng chee ‘s song is patriotic”

oh gee… again it happened – internal security ministry ordering all mainstream media to stop publishing news on wee meng chee @namewee’s (picture left) negarakuku issue. nobody is to talk about it – except the PM and DPM.

sound familiar? yep, remember when all of a sudden the DPM declared that malaysia is an islamic state? this set a chain reaction from here and there, everybody talking about islamic state… until the internal security ministry directed nobody were to talk about it except the PM and DPM.

yeah so that’s our bolehland for you – mainstream media controlled by the gomen, everything nobody can say anything except the two top persons in the gomen – and what you telling me our country practise democracy?

oh well, maybe in a way, i should also stop blogging on wee’s negarakuku issue… but not because of the gomen directive, mind you. hey i’m no mainstream media. maybe in a way it’s good for bloggers to stop blogging about wee’s negarakuku. time to blog on other more important issues than an unknown young student love of making music video (er… but now made very well known thanks to our half past six ministers).

ok i will stop blogging about wee’s negarakuku EXCEPT when i want to post reports from the forums.  well, here’s one, the first, from malaysiakini. highlights in bold are my own. i like what the PKR youth deputy head said, of which i extract and quote here:

THE SONG IS PATRIOTIC BECAUSE IT HIGHLIGHTS THE ROT IN THE COUNTRY.

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Wee’s rap song – what’s the big deal? 
by Soon Li Tsin
ug 21, 07 1: 56pm       

What is the big deal about a ‘punk rocker’ sampling the national anthem? Writer and film director  Hishamuddin Rais had this to ask at a PKR forum on the Negarakuku controversy.

Answering the question, he said the big deal is only because the episode has shown up the failure of the  government’s ‘Malaysian project’.

“There are prejudices in this song but that’s no big deal because everybody has their prejudices, ” he  told the packed room comprising some 100 people last night.

“But what this really shows up in the mind of this young Chinese boy is that the Malaysian project has failed to unite all the races. ”

Muar-born Wee Meng Chee, 24, rapped his song against the background of the national flag and  anthem, in a music video that was posted online.

Several ministers were among those who criticised him, claiming that the lyrics have incited racial hatred  and insulted Islam.

The media studies student, currently based in Taiwan, faces the possibility of being charged under the  Sedition Act and will be investigated by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) despite his apology and removal of the video.

Hishamuddin said only a few sections of society have supported the government’s call for prosecution.

“Look at Zam (Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin) and a few others in the cabinet. They are split on  this issue, ” he said.

“Even (opposition party) PAS has not taken a position on this matter despite people saying that the lyrics  insult Islam, because they too hate the government. ”

He pointed out that Malaysia has entered an era in which the public can question anything, and this  shows that society is evolving towards maturity.

He also left the audience in stitches when he said people in villages would not be affected by the burning  of the national flag.

“If you go to the kampung (village) and set the flag on fire, they will tell you not to burn it – but only because  they are afraid that you might burn down the house. It has nothing to do with patriotism, ” he mused aloud,  to laughter.

Call to Jakim

Institute for Policy Research (IKD) executive director Khalid Jaafar, said the Islamic Development  Department (Jakim) can learn from Wee’s view of the azan (Muslim call to prayer) during the subuh (dawn) prayers.

Wee described the azan as his wake-up call, saying it sometimes sounds like a rooster crowing and that  it is off-key.

“This shows that the imam appointed are not doing a good job (of sounding the call). Jakim should look  into this to make sure that they are doing their job, ” Khalid said.

“People forget that the call to prayer is not just heard by Muslims, but also by non-Muslims. How are we  reach out to non-Muslims if we don’t consider (their views)? ”

Former student activist Amin Idris said he was very angry when he first saw the video but that he then  realised he should first understand where Wee is coming from on this.

“I am glad Wee made the video so that I could reflect. I sought to understand him. I would forgive him  because Islam teaches us to forgive and to look at the positive aspects of other people, ” he said.

He also stressed that politicians – with their racial incitements and rampant corruption – constitute a  greater threat to national security than Wee’s video.

PKR Youth deputy head Amiruddin Sari felt the song is patriotic because it highlights the rot in the  country.

“The issues raised – such as corruption, the civil service and how he feels as a citizen – how can this be  seen as unpatriotic at all? The aspiration in the song is that Wee has a (progressive) vision of  nation-building, ” he said.

PKR information chief Tian Chua moderated the forum, held at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese  Assembly Hall.  

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APA ERTINYA 50 TAHUN MERDEKA??… when everybody’s voices are not allowed to be heard/spoken except the two top men??