Intent misread, Nazri cancels Namewee PC

Namewee had simply wanted to promote his latest trailer. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz today abruptly cancelled a scheduled press conference with controversial rapper Wee Meng Chee, just hours after its announcement was made. Nazri, who is minister in the Prime Minister’s department, had believed that Wee — better known as Namewee — wanted to have a press conference tomorrow morning to talk about the 1 Malaysia concept as well as make a public apology to Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“When we first received information that Namewee wanted to meet Datuk Seri Nazri, we were given the impression that he wanted to talk about the 1 Malaysia concept, and make a public apology to the prime minister over the latest controversies surrounding him. “But now we found out that Namewee only wanted to have a press conference to promote his new 1 Malaysia trailer, that’s why the minister called off the press conference,” said Nazri’s press secretary Ahmad Fazli. “As such, the press conference scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled,” Ahmad told The Malaysian Insider. Namewee, who is no stranger to controversy, posted a video recently titled “Nah” which contained his trademark utterances of vulgarities in response to an incident involving a Johor principal and claims of racial taunts. The principal, Siti Inshah Mansor, has since been questioned by the police, late last month, but with no conclusive outcome.

Namewee has been heavily criticised by Malay rights group Perkasa, which claimed that his video was racist in nature. About 50 people, including members of Perkasa, turned up at the Chinese Assembly Hall in Jalan Maharajalela last night to stage a protest against Namewee, who was launching his new album in the hall. The group, which was seen carrying Perkasa banners, later set fire to pictures of Namewee.