Yo, Yo. Check it out. He's Namewee!

People question his controversial lyrics, but few actually try to understand what he wants to say.

By Dan Lim



Namewee, does this name do anything for you?

Actually, when he created the song ‘Negarakuku’ many people were pissed as hell.

Many called him a traitor because he had apparently insulted the Malaysian anthem.

The issue was heavily politicised. Many asked for his citizenship to be revoked. He received death threats. People were camping outside his house in Muar. His father was ridiculed for “not teaching his son enough.”

Yes, “Negarakuku” was certainly crude. He opened the Pandora’s Box by touching on the rather sensitive issues that few Malaysians dare touch. And I believe I need not mention what I mean by those.

Actually, fuck all these. He’s a hero alright.

People question his controversial lyrics, but few actually try to understand what he wants to say.

In that particular song, he spoke about social injustice in Malaysia. He spoke about the social problem in Malaysia. What he did was to state the truth, about what has happened in Malaysia.

He is not a politician, and certainly does not have any political allegiance.

People feign ignorance. They know that there are serious problems with Malaysia. They choose to be quiet as long as they can make money and eat. But not to him; he knew that something must be done to set things straight.

He does not need to be polite with what he says to please the people. Only politicians do. When he doesn’t like what he sees, he speaks about it. In the end, he is an artist. He chose to speak it in his own way.

Let’s be realistic. If he chose to convey his message through other means, such as writing an opinion piece to a newspaper or whatnot, will it reach the people this easily? I doubt that it will even be published.

Even if it does, the impact will be really insignificant.

Mainstream media in Malaysia are freaking mad. Their writings mostly consist of propaganda, who's bonking who and whatnot.

Social injustice will never be important to them as they will focus on things like Rosmah visiting an orphanage and what a ‘penyayang’ she is.

That is why we cannot expect them to highlight all these things that matter to us. It is akin to hoping a cat will grow horns, as the Malay proverb goes.

(I’m studying journalism, by the way. And I don’t know why the fuck I chose this subject in the first place.)

I am sure that the average Malaysian does not like to read. They care more about sensational news like gossips or sex scandals of politicians. I bet my RM100 on this.

That is why we need people to take the first step.

And that is what Namewee did in 2007. Since then, a lot of discussions have been going on about race relations in Malaysia, and it is certainly a nice development.

Not all people agree with what he did, but it sure has raised awareness among Malaysians though there are still many close-minded people that hate him.

4 years have passed. And he surprised us with his new film Nasi Lemak 2.0.

The development of the film was hampered by lots of problems but nevertheless, he completed it in order to show his idea about the relationships amongst the various races in Malaysia.

It has been well received by Malaysians. The film genre such as Nasi Lemak 2.0 has been rare since the last film by the late Yasmin Ahmad.

From then till now, I can see that he is maturing. He might well be the next person that plays an important role to change the social landscape of Malaysia in future.