SINGAPORE: American comedian Sammy Obeid has accused Singaporean authorities of censorship after they refused to grant a permit for his stand-up performance addressing Palestine and Israel.
Obeid claimed in a social media post that his Sunday show was cancelled because regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority rejected his script despite submitting a heavily toned-down version.
“I erred on the side of caution and submitted a heavily censored script that only referenced Palestine a few times,“ he stated regarding his awareness of Singapore’s strict regulations.
“After waiting weeks and weeks, the script was rejected… I was told to completely remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel,“ Obeid added.
IMDA responded Friday that Obeid made several “inaccurate” allegations regarding the permit denial.
The authority’s spokesperson clarified that the license application was rejected because it was submitted only 10 working days before the event.
“Applications are required to be submitted at least 40 working days before the event, to allow sufficient time for applications to be processed or advisories to be included in publicity materials and advertisements,“ IMDA explained.
“IMDA had not requested for any edits to be made on the script,“ the authority emphasised, adding that “at no time, were ‘multiple edits’ requested.”
Singapore maintains strict regulations against sensitive topics like race and religion to preserve harmony within its ethnically diverse population comprising Chinese majority with substantial Malay and Indian minorities.
Obeid has announced plans to perform in other Asian locations including Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo. – AFP
