Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia -- News Headlines

Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia -- News Headlines: Action on student who insulted anthem

Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian university student in Taiwan who insulted the 'Negaraku' and mocked the Government in a video clip will be recalled, Parliamentary Secretary to the Higher Education Ministry, Datuk Dr Adham Baba, said here Tuesday.

He said if investigation showed the student was sponsored by the Government, he would be recalled to be followed by other forms of action.

'Let the Ministry investigate this matter to ascertain the truth,' he told reporters after launching the Caring Hospital Enterprise System (CHEST), Filmless Hospital and IT literate programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Hospital (HUKM), here.

Dr Adham was commenting on antics by the student who went by the name 'Namewee' in a video clip singing the 'Negaraku' littered with obscenities.

The national anthem 'Negaraku' was renamed 'Negarakuku' in the five minute 32 sec video clip on a website last month.

The 24 year-old Mass Communication student at the Ming Chuan University in Taiwan also mocked Muslims, the police and civil servants. - Bernama"

Malaysian student in trouble for YouTube rap

Malaysian student in trouble for YouTube rap - AFP
August 8, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian authorities are investigating the YouTube video of a student rapping to the national anthem using allegedly seditious lyrics, the Straits Times reported Wednesday, citing officials.

Nearly half-a-million people have already watched the six-minute video by Namewee, a 24-year-old Malaysian student at Taiwan's Ming Chuan University, a log on the popular video sharing site showed.

In the intro to the video, which shows a Malaysian flag in the background, Namewee dedicates the song to "all Malaysians, specially the government."

According to the paper, the song - in a mixture of Mandarin and Bahasa - contained lyrics which "touched on racially-sensitive issues by sarcastically singing the morning call to prayer for Muslims."

A partial translation of the lyrics circulating in the Internet says they also portray Malaysian police as corrupt extortionists.

Deputy internal security minister Johari Baharum said police would look at the video clip to determine whether the student violated the country's strict sedition laws.

"If he has, we will act against him under the Sedition Act," Johari said.

Originally enacted by British colonial authorities, sedition is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,400).

Rights groups and press freedom activists have previously accused Malaysian authorities of applying the law to stifle political critics.

Liow Tiong, the deputy youth and sports minister, said that while Namawee may have only tried to express his nationalism, he had inadvertently insulted the national anthem.

"He seems patriotic but needs guidance to show his patriotism in the proper way," he said, adding he should not have disparaged national symbols.

At the end of the video clip, Namewee says in Bahasa: "Don't sue me. I don't have money."

CD versions of the song are reportedly being sold secretly in Kuala Lumpur bazaars or night markets.

Malaysian student in trouble for YouTube rap - Sci-Tech - Middle East Times

Merdeka Statement

Merdeka Statement

In the struggles towards forging a national identity, great efforts have been taken to strengthen national unity in the country, which must be supported by all. However, recently the state of unity has been fraying at the edges. Ethnic, linguistic and religious divides have deepened, causing genuine pain and hurt to many in our nation. Such a fragile state of unity should not have happened after 50 years of nation building. New sustained efforts are urgently needed to rebuild our National Unity.

WE BELIEVE THAT:

• The current National Unity Advisory Panel, under the Jabatan Perpaduan Negara & Integrasi Nasional, should be made an independent National Unity & Integration Commission, empowered to review legislation, policies and practices that impede on national unity, investigate complaints of ethnic, linguistic and religious discrimination both in Government and the private sector; made answerable to Parliament and chaired by reputable and credible individuals; and include a Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which will serve to grapple with key incidents of conflict and hurt in the country’s past, which is an important and necessary part of the healing of the national psyche, in the road towards a peaceful shared future.
• All new policies should be tested against the tenets of the Federal Constitution and the Rukunegara - no policy formulated should becontrary to the spirit of the values contained therein.
• An independent and transparent National Consultative Council on Vision 2020 should be established immediately, for representatives from the Government, private sector businesses, academia, media and civil society to discuss progress towards Vision 2020 and beyond.
• A National Research Institute on Ethnic Relations should be established as a centre that co-ordinates in-depth research on Ethnic Relations and Culture, compiling stories of inter-ethnic cooperation and mutual assistance.
• Public-Private Partnerships to strengthen National Unity should be launched at all levels and in all sectors.
• Islam is the religion of the Federation of Malaysia as clearly set out in the Federal Constitution. The freedom to profess and practice the religions of choice as enshrined in the Federal Constitution does not threaten this position. The Government has committed itself to the principles of freedom, protection of minorities and universal values, values of which must be continuously and relentlessly upheld for the sake of all Malaysians.
• Any extremism in the form and shape of ethnicity, religion and gender should not be propagated or tolerated at any level.

WE BELIEVE THAT THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AS SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND IS THE PRIMARY REFERENCE POINT FOR STRENGTHENING NATIONAL UNITY, AND THAT ALL NATIONAL POLICIES SHOULD BE TESTED AGAINST ITS CENTRAL TENETS.

The People’s Parliament
CPPS Merdeka Statement
Merdeka Statement is Officially Launched