A Malaysian college student is facing charges for allegedly violating the country's Sedition Act for displaying the country's flag and rapping the Malaysian national anthem on a YouTube video Wednesday.
The six-minute YouTube video was created by Namewee, a 24-year-old Malaysian student at Taiwan's Ming Chuan University. The video is said to have been watched by almost half a million people, not only in Malaysia but all over the world.
According to people who have watched the video, Namewee used the Malaysian flag as his backdrop and dedicated the song to all Malaysians and especially to its government.
The lyrics of the song is a mixture of Mandarin and Bahasa, and "touched on racially-sensitive issues by sarcastically singing the morning call to prayer for Muslims."
One of the translations that has been translated said, "Malaysian police are corrupt extortionists."
Malaysian authorities became alarmed by the lyrics and are now looking at the video clips to determine if Namewee violated the country's sedition law.
Deputy internal security minister Johari Baharum said "If he has, we will act against him under the Sedition Act."
According to authorities, if the student will be found guilty, he will be punished and serve three years in jail and pay a fine of $1,400.
Malaysian authorities are also alarmed that in such a short period of time, CD versions of the song were being sold secretly in bazaars and night markets in Kuala Lumpur.
