Following the recent controversy surrounding the music video entitled ‘Like a Dog’, Malaysian rapper Namewee had been arrested at the Federal Police Headquarters yesterday (22 February 2018), reported NST.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
Prior to this, on 18 January 2018, Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said that they had opened investigation papers on Namewee and his video that was deemed culturally insensitive.
After a while, the rapper volunteered to provide a statement in regards to his latest controversial music video to the authorities and was detained right after giving the statement.
Source: Facebook
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, was arrested at 2.45pm yesterday (22 February 2018) after several police reports were lodged against him, claiming that the music video he produced for Chinese New Year contained elements that could possibly threaten the harmony among races in Malaysia.
“We acted based on four reports which had been lodged against Namewee citing elements of insensitivity towards religion, which could spark racial tension living in a multiracial country, like Malaysia,” said the Federal Criminal Investigation Department director, Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd.
According to him, the rapper had been detained to help with further investigations on the matter under Section 298 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998.
After being arrested, Namewee posted a photo of himself at Bukit Aman on his Facebook, along with a caption that said, “I am not afraid because I believe Malaysia has justice.”
Meanwhile, Namewee’s rep also posted on his Facebook account and confirmed that he had indeed been arrested and is hoping that he would be released today (22 February 2018).
“Namewee has been officially arrested. We will continue to cooperate with the police for investigation. Thanks for your continuous support. Let’s pray and hope that Namewee will be released tomorrow,” they wrote.
As of now, Namewee is still being detained by the police until further notice.
Let’s hope the police and parties involved are able to quickly resolve the case and move on.
Also read: DPM Tells Namewee “Do Not Cross The Line” After Releasing Dog-Themed CNY Song
