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Namewee is launching a new album. If I am not mistaken, it should be out on 3rd September 2007. He made the video below as a preview / announcement for that launch.

After watching the video a couple of times, something hit me and I was enlightened. I noticed some similarity between Namewee and Chu Mei-feng. If you haven’t heard of Chu Mei-feng, where on earth have you been? She was the Taiwan politician who got involved in a sex scandal with a married man a few years ago. Their “act” was recorded on video and was circulated on VCD and the Internet.

Anyway, below are the similarities that I noticed.

Both events are subjective — some might be offended while others may not

Chu Mei-feng: Who said that sex scandals must be offensive or wrong? I am not saying that I approve of such acts but please mind your own business. Some people have relationship problems themselves but are pointing fingers at others.

Namewee: Some supported him for his bravery while others condemned him for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem and flag. I dare you say his lyrics doesn’t portray the real situation in Malaysia. Thanks to two newspapers who published articles saying his rap was offensive and disrespected a religion, many others who have not watched the video, let alone understand the real meaning of it started condemning the him and the song. I doubt the writers and editors of the two newspapers even understood the lyrics themselves.

Both events were given more publicity than it should thanks to the government

Chu Mei-feng: BBC News reported that the 40 minute video of the scandal was given away free with every purchase of the tabloid-style magazine Scoop Weekly. The Taiwanese government quickly confiscated the video off the shelves. However, the article stated that the government’s action “has only served to give the scandal more publicity”.

Namewee: Namewee’s Negarakuku was first posted on YouTube for a few weeks/months before the government/newspaper decided to hype it up. Back then, people were merely enjoying the rap (as in a form of music) privately or sharing with their friends. Meanwhile, there are also others who agreed on the issues mentioned in the rap (ie. corruption, differential treatments, university quotas, etc.). Albeit there were some sensitive issues mentioned that probably would have been better left out.

However, the video got a whole load of publicity thanks to the newspaper that published an article on it and the government for (if I may say) overreacting over the whole issue.

Both events overshadowed other important issues happening in the country

Chu Mei-feng: Quoting from the same BBC News report:
It seems there is nothing like a sex scandal to grab people’s interest. The affair has overshadowed more serious issues, such as Taiwan’s faltering economy and its official entry into the World Trade Organisation on 1 January.

Namewee: There has been increasing pressure on the government over a few issues prior to Namewee’s Negarakuku event. One of them was the RM4.6 billion PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) bailout. In times like this, Namewee looks like a pretty good bait to distract people’s attention away from it, don’t you think?

Both victims decided to make full use of their free publicity

Chu Mei-feng: She wrote a book “The Confessions of Chu Mei-feng” to explain her complicated relationships with a few different men. Another BBC News report stated that she began her singing career and performed in concert to sell-out crowds in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Namewee: As mentioned earlier in this post, he will be launching his album on the 3rd of September.

Conclusion

Don’t tell me you still can’t see the similarities between Namewee and Chu Mei-feng. If that is not enough, here is another one. They are both in Taiwan when the incident happened/erupted.

Lastly, “nenenene pupu”. Sorry, just couldn’t help it.

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