Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia: A Study of Namewee’s Music
Wee Meng Chee, better known as Namewee, is a controversial Malaysian rapper whose music has courted trouble with the Malaysian government. Although some people dismiss his songs as profane, this paper will highlight that Namewee’s music actually constitutes a critique of Malaysia’s social realiti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor's University
2012
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/ http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/1/2.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848766430100586496 |
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| author | Tan, Chong Yew |
| author_facet | Tan, Chong Yew |
| author_sort | Tan, Chong Yew |
| building | INTI Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Wee Meng Chee, better known as Namewee, is a controversial Malaysian rapper whose
music has courted trouble with the Malaysian government. Although some people dismiss
his songs as profane, this paper will highlight that Namewee’s music actually constitutes
a critique of Malaysia’s social realities, and it challenges the BN ruling coalition’s political
discourses, particularly UMNO’s ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay hegemony). One
recurring theme in Namewee’s songs is his frustration with policies that discriminate
against Chinese Malaysians. To understand the significance of Namewee’s music, this
paper refers to previous scholarly efforts in analysing the ways subordinate groups respond
to domination and explores the potentials of rap music as a form of symbolic resistance
against the dominant political discourse in Malaysia. Namewee’s works also stand out
considering ‘protest songs’ are a rare genre in Malaysia. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:51:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | intimal-240 |
| institution | INTI International University |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:51:01Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Taylor's University |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | intimal-2402016-05-06T07:18:30Z http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/ Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia: A Study of Namewee’s Music Tan, Chong Yew BJ Ethics Wee Meng Chee, better known as Namewee, is a controversial Malaysian rapper whose music has courted trouble with the Malaysian government. Although some people dismiss his songs as profane, this paper will highlight that Namewee’s music actually constitutes a critique of Malaysia’s social realities, and it challenges the BN ruling coalition’s political discourses, particularly UMNO’s ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay hegemony). One recurring theme in Namewee’s songs is his frustration with policies that discriminate against Chinese Malaysians. To understand the significance of Namewee’s music, this paper refers to previous scholarly efforts in analysing the ways subordinate groups respond to domination and explores the potentials of rap music as a form of symbolic resistance against the dominant political discourse in Malaysia. Namewee’s works also stand out considering ‘protest songs’ are a rare genre in Malaysia. Taylor's University 2012 Article PeerReviewed text en http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/1/2.pdf Tan, Chong Yew (2012) Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia: A Study of Namewee’s Music. The Journal of the South East Asia Research centre for Communications and Humanities, 4 (1). pp. 21-40. ISSN 2229-872X |
| spellingShingle | BJ Ethics Tan, Chong Yew Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia: A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title | Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia:
A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title_full | Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia:
A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title_fullStr | Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia:
A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia:
A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title_short | Hegemony and Symbolic Resistance in Malaysia:
A Study of Namewee’s Music |
| title_sort | hegemony and symbolic resistance in malaysia:
a study of namewee’s music |
| topic | BJ Ethics |
| url | http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/ http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/240/1/2.pdf |