Malaysian rapper arrested over ‘insulting Islam in music video’

Wee Meng Chee, centre, a Malaysian rapper popularly known as Namewee, is escorted by plainclothes policemen as he arrives at the magistrate court in Penang, Malaysia. Gary Chuah / AP Photo

KUALA LUMPUR // Malaysian authorities remanded a rapper on Monday over a music video he produced that allegedly insulted Islam.

Wee Meng Chee, who goes by the stage name Namewee, is facing a police investigation over the alleged use of footage said to depict a mosque in the state of Penang and of the words “Allah” and “Mecca” in the video.

The 33-year-old is being investigated for “injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class”, Mior Faridalathrash Wahid, a Penang police chief said after the court granted the four-day remand order.

Mr Wee did not have a lawyer in court and he did not make a plea at the hearing or comment to reporters.

The offence carries a penalty of up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.

Mr Wee directed and produced the music video titled “Oh My God!”, in a mixture of Mandarin and Hokkien Chinese dialects, for a Taiwan band. He was detained on Sunday on arrival from Taiwan at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

It is not the first time the rapper has courted controversy.

He was widely accused of mocking the country’s national anthem in a video titled ‘Negarakuku’ when he was a student in Taiwan in 2007.

He was investigated by police for sedition when he returned home a year later. He apologised for the video.

* Reuters