GEORGE TOWN (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian police on Monday (Aug 22) obtained a four-day remand for controversial rapper Namewee in response to his music video which allegedly insulted Islam.
Magistrate registrar Ahmad Tajudin Zain granted the remand order and the case would be investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, 33, arrived at the magistrate's court, Penang at 10.20am Monday and was surrounded by some 30 media personnel.
Wee was arrested at KLIA after arriving home from overseas on Sunday.
He had posted the official music video of Oh My God! On his Youtube channel on Saturday. In a Facebook post he wrote, "OH MY GOD it's here! Wishing everyone a hungry ghost festival :) Jiu Yi Yi. PDRM sila tengok MV baru Namewee! (Malaysian police, please see Namewee's new music video!)
Earlier this month, Penang police chief Comm Datuk Abdul Ghafar Rajab said Namewee's arrest would facilitate the investigation into reports lodged against him over the video which features Penang's floating mosque in Tanjung Bungah as a backdrop, among others.
Alleging that Namewee insulted Islam in his latest production, 20 non-governmental organisations lodged police reports against the entertainer who is no stranger to controversy, having gained notoriety for some provocative videos earlier.
The four-minute clip, directed and produced by Namewee, features a Taiwanese band called Nine-One-One and was shot in places of worship in Penang.
The video starts with the "azan" (Muslim call for prayer), a church choir and the ringing of Buddhist meditation gongs as well as Hindu temple bells.
Namewee then proceeds to loosely use terms such as "Namo Amitabha," "Hallelujah," "Om Mani Padme Hum" and "Allah".
There are also four men in the video dressed as Jesus Christ, fifth century Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, a Taoist priest and a gun-toting man wearing a white robe and a headgear.
The clip also has a scene in which the Jesus character plays pool using the cross as his cue and Xuan Zang, who uses his staff.
In a separate video, Namewee said he released the music video with the intention of promoting religious harmony.
