2 Sep 2007, ST
By Reme Ahmad
FOUR masked men have appeared in a YouTube video clip warning a Malaysian rapper who had been accused of insulting Islam and the Malays that he would 'receive punishment' if he were to return home.
The clip echoes the video threats made by Middle Eastern terrorists.
Speaking in Malay, one of the men read from a statement: 'We would like to give a warning to Namewee that if you were to return to Tanah Melayu you will receive punishment for insulting Islam.' Namewee is the nickname used by the 24-year-old Wee Meng Chee, an undergraduate based in Taiwan.
Tanah Melayu literally means Malay Land.
The 18-second video ended with the four men chanting 'God is Great'.
Last month, Mr Wee parodied the national athem in a rap video that was also posted on YouTube. The clip infuriated many and is now the subject of a government probe into possible sedition.
Amid the uproar, Mr Wee posted a second clip in which he rapped about the discrimination against the Chinese, corrupt cops and indolent civil servants, most of whom are Malay. He also poked fun at Muslim morning prayers broadcast from mosques, saying they acted as his alarm clock.
The video again triggered a flood of abusive responses from Malays, and also expressions of support from ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.
The masked-men video clip became widely known after Malaysia's top blogger and an opposition politician, Mr Jeff Ooi, posted a link to it, asking: 'That's how Malaysians use YouTube?'
The four men who appeared in the clip, which has been watched about 7,000 times, wore black ski masks with only their eyes visible. They stood in front of a brick wall.
They wore black T-shirts, with two of them also wearing what looked like military fatigues.
One of them carried what looked like a sheathed dagger.
The comments posted under the video were not supportive of the scare tactics.
'This is really stupid...do not shame the Malays further,' said one posting which called the four men 'terrorist wannabees'.
Another added: 'I believe that the majority of the Malays in Malaysia are moderate and tolerant Muslims who will not agree to such stupid act as shown by the 'terrorists' in the video.'
By Reme Ahmad
FOUR masked men have appeared in a YouTube video clip warning a Malaysian rapper who had been accused of insulting Islam and the Malays that he would 'receive punishment' if he were to return home.
The clip echoes the video threats made by Middle Eastern terrorists.
Speaking in Malay, one of the men read from a statement: 'We would like to give a warning to Namewee that if you were to return to Tanah Melayu you will receive punishment for insulting Islam.' Namewee is the nickname used by the 24-year-old Wee Meng Chee, an undergraduate based in Taiwan.
Tanah Melayu literally means Malay Land.
The 18-second video ended with the four men chanting 'God is Great'.
Last month, Mr Wee parodied the national athem in a rap video that was also posted on YouTube. The clip infuriated many and is now the subject of a government probe into possible sedition.
Amid the uproar, Mr Wee posted a second clip in which he rapped about the discrimination against the Chinese, corrupt cops and indolent civil servants, most of whom are Malay. He also poked fun at Muslim morning prayers broadcast from mosques, saying they acted as his alarm clock.
The video again triggered a flood of abusive responses from Malays, and also expressions of support from ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.
The masked-men video clip became widely known after Malaysia's top blogger and an opposition politician, Mr Jeff Ooi, posted a link to it, asking: 'That's how Malaysians use YouTube?'
The four men who appeared in the clip, which has been watched about 7,000 times, wore black ski masks with only their eyes visible. They stood in front of a brick wall.
They wore black T-shirts, with two of them also wearing what looked like military fatigues.
One of them carried what looked like a sheathed dagger.
The comments posted under the video were not supportive of the scare tactics.
'This is really stupid...do not shame the Malays further,' said one posting which called the four men 'terrorist wannabees'.
Another added: 'I believe that the majority of the Malays in Malaysia are moderate and tolerant Muslims who will not agree to such stupid act as shown by the 'terrorists' in the video.'
No comments:
Post a Comment