Malaysia’s bad-boy rapper Namewee: out of jail, but are China’s censors ready?

Bad-boy rapper Namewee was once a thorn in the side of the Malaysian government, criticised for insulting both the country and Islam.

Now he’s back with a green light for his once-banned film Banglasia. What gives?

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Rapper Namewee, or Wee Meng Chee, left, is arrested over his 2018 video for Like a Dog. Photo: AP

Published: 1:01pm, 2 Mar 2019Updated: 1:01pm, 2 Mar 2019

In new Malaysia, it seems, unlikely sounding comebacks are becoming an art form. As if the return to power of nonagenarian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wasn’t enough, his new government has opened the door to what may be an even more surprising revival of fortunes.

Step forward, bad-boy rapper Namewee, who on Thursday celebrated the Malaysian release of his previously banned action-comedy film Banglasia, following its approval by censors.

For those unfamiliar with Namewee, the Malaysian-Chinese musician, now 35, made a name for himself as a frequent thorn in the side of previous administrations. In 2007, he shot to fame with a song on YouTube that mocked the Malaysian national anthem – and nearly landed him in jail on a sedition charge. In 2016, he went one better, being locked up for four days over his collaboration with Taiwanese group 911 titled Oh My God! Authorities said the video – which showed the Prophet Mohammed drinking, gambling and wielding a toy gun – was insulting to Islam; Namewee claimed he was trying to promote religious harmony. And in 2018, he found himself back at the police station when he was arrested over his Lunar New Year song Like A Dog . Again, he was accused of insulting Islam: the video featured dancers in dog masks gyrating in front of what appeared to be a mosque (though Namewee later clarified the domed building was in fact the prime minister’s office).

The video for Like A Dog was shot in front of a domed building some viewers took for a mosque.

But all that, it appears, has been forgiven. The Malaysian Film Censorship Board’s stamp of approval for Banglasia cleared the way for its release some five years after Namewee had originally hoped it would come out.

“At the moment it seems like the new government is more accepting of me even though they cut seven scenes from Banglasia ,” Namewee tells This Week in Asia , though he is not legally allowed to say what the offending scenes contained.