On Friday night Fahmi, who closed out the playlist with the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen, was arrested as police barged into his home in Kuala Lumpur, slapped handcuffs on him and detained him at a police station. He was released on Saturday night after police failed at a remand hearing that morning to convince a judge to extend his time in custody. But he remains under investigation, with a senior officer promising “tough action … against anyone who intentionally threatens public security”.
The Sydney Morning Herald Reports..
The 44-year-old’s alleged crime is not bad taste in music – legendary songwriters such as John Lennon and Lou Reed feature in the playlist, albeit a shocker or two like Paris Hilton as well.
Instead, the well-known satirist is being investigated under the country’s sedition law, as well as its communications and multimedia legislation, for allegedly insulting Malaysia’s Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
The playlist, which Fahmi posted on Spotify and then Apple Music, comprises songs almost all with the word “jealous” or “jealousy” in the title, a reference to the queen’s riposte on social media to speculation about members of the royal family and their staff having jumped the queue for COVID-19 vaccines.
“Are you jealous?” she was reported to have replied to the criticism.
On Friday night Fahmi, who closed out the playlist with the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen, was arrested as police barged into his home in Kuala Lumpur, slapped handcuffs on him and detained him at a police station. He was released on Saturday night after police failed at a remand hearing that morning to convince a judge to extend his time in custody. But he remains under investigation, with a senior officer promising “tough action … against anyone who intentionally threatens public security”.
“In which country is a graphic artist, censored, caught and locked up for his art?” said Fahmi, 44.
