A controversial handout issued in Singapore Parliament on April 1 has been making the rounds online, garnering netizen reactions that range from disbelief to dismay. Shared on Facebook by Workers’ Party MP Chen Show Mao, it seems to be part of the Ministerial Statement delivered by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam that same day.
Titled “Restricting Hate Speech to Maintain Racial and Religious Harmony in Singapore,” the document displayed what it called illustrations of “offensive lyrics.” Unbelievably, the examples cited included popular tunes easily heard on our radio stations such as God is a Woman by Ariana Grande (“You, you love it how I move you/You love it how I touch you/My own, when all is said and done/You’ll believe God is a woman”) and Take Me to Church by Hozier (“Take me to church/I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies/I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife”.)
Heresy by Nine Inch Nails (“God is dead and no one cares/If there is a hell, I’ll see you there”) also appeared on the list, along with Lady Gaga’s Judas (“I wanna love you/But something’s pulling me away from you/Jesus is my virtue and/Judas is the demon I cling to/I cling to”.)
The handout may have been released on April Fools’ Day, but it was no joke.
Shanmugam also spoke on the abruptly canceled concert by black metal band Watain last month, saying he recognized there were Singaporeans who disagreed with the government on that issue.
“They say that the Government is being self-righteous in trying to govern other people’s lives and decisions, that the audience can listen to metal music without being influenced by a band’s beliefs and that NCCS and churches can advise their members not to go to the concert. No need for a ban,” he said, as quoted by Channel NewsAsia. “Seen in isolation, these are valid points. The argument in essence is ‘why should I not listen to what I want to?’ ‘Why should you, the Government or the Church, tell me what I can or cannot listen to?’… However, the reality, as we have seen, is not so simple.”
Straightforward, it is not. Singapore’s no stranger to banning songs, but where’s the line drawn? Because ironically enough, Cardi B, who’s slated to perform at this year’s F1 concerts, did not feature on the list at all, even though her lyrics aren’t exactly… family-friendly.
In the online realm, people were mostly flabbergasted by the mere existence of such a document, and that it was even talked about in Parliament.
Singaporean journalist Kirsten Han even came up with a Spotify playlist for easy listening — just in case anyone’s feeling rebellious.
Hours after the original post circulated online, leaving a litany of accusations in its wake, Shanmugam came forth to offer some context to the list of songs. So rest easy, because none of the songs have been or will be banned — they’re just on the line-up “because some people find it offensive.”
But then again, anyone can take offense at anything these days.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the post from Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.]
