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Hate speech debate: 'Untrue' that songs with 'offensive lyrics' will be banned, says Shanmugam

PHOTO: Screengrab from Gov.sg YouTube channel
PHOTO: Screengrab from Gov.sg YouTube channel

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday (2 April) it is “untrue” that the songs with “offensive lyrics” that he cited in Parliament have been banned or are going to be banned.

In a Facebook post, Shanmugam said, “I made the point that people may find many things offensive. And gave the list as an illustration. Doesn’t mean that it can all get banned, just because some people find it offensive. That is also a point I made in the speech.”

While delivering a 90-minute Ministerial Statement on restricting hate speech to maintain racial and religious harmony on Monday, Shanmugam shared a handout entitled “Illustrations of Offensive Lyrics”. This was later posted on Facebook by Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Chen Show Mao.

It cited lyrics of four songs by Nine Inch Nails, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Hozier. For example, in “Heresy” by Nine Inch Nails, the lyrics cited were, “He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see…He dreamed up a god and called it Christianity/God is dead and no one cares/If there is a hell, I’ll see you there.”

In his Facebook post, Shanmugam added, “People who did not listen to the speech may misunderstand that the list contains songs which have been banned (!) or are going to be banned (!). All of that is untrue.”

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