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== External links ==
== External links ==


* [http://www.weemengchee.com/ Vote for Wee Meng Chee], Your opinion towards Wee Meng Chee's Video
* [http://www.namewee.com/ Official Namewee website] {{zh icon}}.
* [http://www.namewee.com/ Official Namewee website] {{zh icon}}.
* [http://namewee.blogspot.com/ 我的名字叫明志], Wee Meng Chee's blog {{zh icon}}.
* [http://namewee.blogspot.com/ 我的名字叫明志], Wee Meng Chee's blog {{zh icon}}.

Revision as of 11:36, 1 September 2007

Template:Bio-notability

File:Negarakuku.jpg
Wee Ming Chee in his Youtube hit, that video clip have been view nearly a million times, the National language subtitle on top is the translation of the Chinese at the bottom of the video
This file may be deleted at any time. .

Wee Meng Chee[1] (simplified Chinese: 黄明志; traditional Chinese: 黃明志; pinyin: Huang Ming Zhi; Hainanese Pinyin: Wee Meng Chee) (born 1983 in Muar, Johor[1][citation needed]) is a Malaysian university student currently majoring in Mass Communication at Ming Chuan University, in Taipei, Republic of China. He is also commonly known under the alias Namewee.

In addition to studying abroad, Wee vested interest in composing and performing hip hop music in various languages, releasing several songs with complementing music videos on YouTube. Songs released by Namewee include Muar's Mandarin (麻坡的华语) and Kawanku, directed at Malaysian Chinese, Singaporean and Malay people. However, Wee gained notability after releasing a controversial song fused with the national anthem of Malaysia, Negaraku, which describes the state of the country and its government. In the following weeks, the song increasingly drew both praise and criticism from various quarters of Malaysian society, and prompted the government to voice the possibility of action towards Wee. Despite the controversy surrounding Negarakuku, Wee had announced the release of his new album in Malaysia, due out on September 2, 2007.[2] The album was completed in May.[3]

Songs

Negarakuku

Wee's sudden rise to stardom is the result of his highly publicized piece - Negarakuku. Its Chinese title reads 我愛我的國家 Negarakuku (2007大馬觀光年主題曲) translated as "I Love My Country Negarakuku (Visit Malaysia 2007 Theme Song)".[4]

The structure of the song consists of two major components: the rapping, which is exclusively composed and performed by Wee, and Malaysia's anthem, Negaraku, which is split into three segments between the rapping and sung out in groups of two or three verses. While the national anthem is fragmented and sung in an "R&B" tone, Wee had no intention of altering the melody and lyrics of the anthem, as the song would still retain its original theme and meaning.[5] The rap lyrics are uttered in Mandarin with occasional Hokkien passages and words, while verses of the national anthem are sung in their original, Malay form.[6]

Negarakuku covers elements of daily lives in Malaysia from Wee's perspectives, [5] including police corruption, inefficient public services and biased government policies. Two other portions of his song reference to Muslims' call for prayer and layback lifestyle of Malay people; one segment mentions the azaan to Fajr, the earliest of the five daily prayers by Muslims, described as a "morning call" that would wake Wee up at 5 a.m. ("早上五点, 还有 MORNING CALL 会叫我起床") and sung like a love duet with a voice that ululates like an R&B song ("有时几间一起唱, 听起来好像情歌对唱, 声音拗来拗去像唱 R&B 一样"). Two other verses describe people who "cover their heads" and walk slowly ("他们把头包起来, 慢慢走慢慢过马路"). In the beginning of the song, Wee dedicates the song to "all Malaysians, especially the Government." Nevertheless, the rap lyrics were only intended to describe without bias, leaving listeners determine on their own the right or wrong of any observation Wee raised in the song.[5]

A music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube by Wee on July 15, 2007, which featured a montage of photographs of Malaysia, a Visit Malaysia 2007 video and a video of Wee rapping against the backdrop of a Malaysian flag. The video ends depicting both a Chinese caption thanking unnamed parties for videos and images provided for the montage, and a Manglish caption asking not to be sued as he has no money ("please don't sue me, saya takde duit"). The video was removed by Wee on July 23, 2007,[7] but copies of the video, including one with Malay subtitles of the song's Chinese lyrics, are still made available on the site.

Reaction

Public reaction towards the song is virtually split. Immediate reactions in the form of YouTube comments range from agreement with Wee or support to him, to attacks and threats towards Wee, to racist remarks directed towards both Chinese people and Malay people in general.

Official criticism of the song was primarily centered around the song's anti-government undertones, which resulted in comments by members of the Malaysian parliament to take action on him. However, as Wee is currently in a foreign country, he is out of Malaysia's jurisdiction.[8]

Accusation of disrespect towards Islam and Malay people were brought up by Malay tabloid Harian Metro, claiming that Wee's song had mocked Islam and the mindset of Malay people.[9] Wee disputes this claim by stating that the paper, as well as several Malaysian news channels, fail to objectively report facts, resulting in misunderstandings of his song.[5] His comments were further directed at Metro, claiming that the paper did not understand the implicit meaning of his song's lyrics before concluding its nature.[5] He added the paper had not provide any translations of the song, which language is not widely used among the Malay-speaking community, resulting in their dependence on local media channels for interpretations of the song.[5]

In an August 9, 2007 telephone interview from the Republic of China, Wee clarified that the song was merely reflecting satirical social commentary social life in Malaysia as a Chinese, and added humours solely for the pleasure of the Chinese community.[10] Wee posted a blog entry typed in both Malay and Traditional Chinese on August 12, in an attempt to clarify the nature of his song and its lyrics.[5]

On August 14, 2007 (and later, on August 16 on his blog), Wee issued a public apology to the government and Malaysians who found it offensive.[11] [12] [13] While the Malaysian Chinese Association accepted Wee's apology[12] with Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, Malaysia's Minister of Information, urging Malaysians to the same,[14] the cabinet rejected Wee's apology; Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz added that "the law will take its course." [15] Other actions voiced by the government include bringing Wee to court, probably under the Sedition Act, as he had insulted the symbol of the nation,[16] [17] and further action against YouTube.[16]

On August 21, 2007 the Internal Security Ministry issued a gag order on all mainstream media to seize reporting on Wee.[18] [19] No major presses or television channels in Malaysia has covered Wee or Negarakuku since thereof.

Kawanku

Kawanku, posted months before Negarakuku, was sung in Hokkien, Hainanese, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and English.

The song commences with Wee warning those who dislike him not to listen. Wee goes on to proclaim himself as an ethnic Hainanese with the ability to speak in six languages. He later dedicates the song to his friends. He raps in Cantonese by blasting people living in Kuala Lumpur and those who speak Cantonese, telling them "not to be so arrogant". He wonders why most media sources in Kuala Lumpur use Cantonese, although most Malaysian Chinese are of Hokkien ethnicity, by saying "This is not Hong Kong./Why is Cantonese spoken so often?"

Wee talks about Singapore in Mandarin Chinese, starting with the story of Singapore's independence in 1965, before stating that he "had only one opinion about Singapore": that all Housing Development Board flats were "all the same". Wee described this planning as "downright Communist" and that Lee Kuan Yew and Mao Zedong "are friends" and that Marxism "lies heavily on Singaporeans' shoulders". Wee calls Singaporeans "kiasi" and "kiasu". Wee later raps in Malay, by saying that Malays should not tell Chinese to "go back to China" as there won't be any jobs created in Malaysia but then Malays "do not want to work hard" anyway. (As a result of losing jobs) Malays "go to the jungle and live like sakai", a derogatory term for indigenious tribes in Malaysia. Wee also asks Malays not to call Chinese pigs, and says Bak Kut Teh is delicious (words often used by Chinese for making fun of Malays when Malays call Chinese pigs).

References

  1. ^ a b "University student comes under fire for video clip". The Star. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Namewee (2007-08-26). "9月3號 敬請期待 [[:Template:Zh icon]]". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-08-29. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  3. ^ Ooi, Jeff (2007-08-27). "NameWee Album... Sep 03 release". Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  4. ^ Namewee (2007-07-15). "我愛我的國家 Negarakuku (2007大馬觀光年主題曲) [[:Template:Zh icon]]". Blogger. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Namewee (2007-08-12). "Hello, Semua Orang Melayu sila tengok sini [[:Template:Zh icon]][[:Template:Ms icon]]". Blogger. Retrieved 2007-08-13. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  6. ^ Colourful World (2007-07-16). "我愛我的國家 Negarakuku (2007大馬觀光年主題曲)". Blogger. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  7. ^ Namewee (2007-07-23). "remove 掉了!! [[:Template:Zh icon]]". Blogger. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  8. ^ "'Negaraku' is outside police jurisdiction". Daily Express. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Dalam lagu itu, pelajar berkenaan juga menyentuh sensitiviti masyarakat Islam dengan memperlekeh ibadat umat Islam dan sikap orang Melayu" Ahmad Fitri Che Musa (2007-08-07). "Pelajar cerca negara, polis [[:Template:Ms icon]]". myMetro/Harian Metro Online. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  10. ^ Yeow, David (2007-08-10). "Namewee: I did not mean to insult Malays". The New Straits Times Online. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Wee Meng Chee aka Namewee (2007-07-16). "KENYATAAN MEMINTA MAAF OLEH WONG MENG CHEE ATAU NAMEWEE [[:Template:Ms icon]]". Blogger. Retrieved 2007-08-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  12. ^ a b Manirajan, R. (2007-08-14). "Negarakuku rapper apologises". Sun2Surf. Retrieved 2007-08-17. See also The Sun, August 15, 2007, page 4.
  13. ^ "Student rapper apologises". The Star Online. 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-08-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Malaysians Must Accept Wee's Apology - Zam". Bernama. 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  15. ^ "(The) govt will not accept student Wee Meng Chee's apology for his Negaraku rap video clip on You Tube, the law will take its course, says Nazri Aziz." - The Star SMS news. Retreived from Rocky's Bru: Govt rejects Negaraku-ku student's apology (2007-08-16) on 2007-08-17.
  16. ^ a b Manirajan, R. and Dass, Maria J. (2007-08-16). "Who's sorry now? - Cabinet cannot accept apology, rapper who mocked Negaraku must face the music". Sun2Surf. Retrieved 2007-08-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ 杨凯斌 and 黄凌风 (2007-08-16). "内阁拒绝接受黄明志道歉纳兹里：检察署援煽动法调查 [[:Template:Zh icon]]". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2007-08-24. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  18. ^ [To be added later] (2007-08-21). "'Negarakuku': Enough! ministry tells media". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  19. ^ Ooi, Jeff (2007-08-21). "Negaraku-ku: Damage control mode... GAG ORDER on Press". Retrieved 2007-08-29.
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