Malaysia Garbles Lady Gaga's Gay Lyrics In 'Born This Way'

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian radio stations worry some lyrics in Lady Gaga's gay anthem "Born This Way" are on the wrong track, baby.

Broadcasters in this Muslim-majority nation have refused to play lines in the hit song that encourage public acceptance of gays, claiming Thursday they are being cautious because the government forbids offensive content.

Malaysians who tune in to popular stations hear edited versions of "Born This Way" that use indecipherable garble to replace the lyrics: "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track, baby."

AMP Radio Networks, Malaysia's top private radio operator, said the precaution was due to government restrictions against songs that might violate "good taste or decency or (are) offensive to public feeling."

"The particular lyrics in 'Born This Way' may be considered as offensive when viewed against Malaysia's social and religious observances," the company said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The issue of being gay, lesbian or (bisexual) is still considered as a 'taboo' by general Malaysians."

Broadcasters can face fines up of to 50,000 ringgit ($16,000) and other penalties for breaking the rules. AMP Radio Networks runs eight radio channels, including Malaysia's No. 1 English-language station, Hitz.fm, which has an estimated 1.5 million listeners.

Malaysian gay rights activist Pang Khee Teik criticized the broadcasters' decision, saying the media should be "a platform for marginalized voices and create understanding – not perpetuate ignorance and hate."

"Lady Gaga was attempting to address this very thing in her song. How dare they play that song and cut out its shining heart," said Pang, the co-founder of Sexuality Independence, a Malaysian anti-discrimination arts movement. "We just want the same thing as everyone else: to love, be loved and have our songs played on the radio."

Lady Gaga, who is highly outspoken about gay rights, should consider protesting the decision by asking Malaysian stations not to air her songs at all, Pang said.

Gay Malaysians have tried to press for greater acceptance in recent years, saying discrimination persists.

The Sexuality Independence group last year posted a Youtube clip of a young gay Muslim who defended his sexuality, but it removed the video after anonymous viewers made online death threats against him. Government religious authorities accused the man of insulting Islam, though no official action was taken.

Comments

[xMoonWalkerx]

12:47 AM on 03/22/2011

Yawn... Another Islamic country with a long list of taboos which treats it's population like kids and they probably deserve it for putting up with kind if cr*p

[messy]

04:35 PM on 03/21/2011

Lady Gaga, despite the fact that she's straight, is a hetrophobe. It's all over her music.

[conservicide]

04:13 PM on 03/21/2011

Denial

[HunGirl2012]

02:20 PM on 03/21/2011

You might as well not play the song at all then.

[Midori Greene]

04:43 AM on 03/21/2011

I would like to say that this is not the first song / movie to be garbled/ censored / banned. There were many examples previously. Among them are - The word 'naked' from Natalie Imbruglia's Torn, The Prince of Egypt was banned out right,The Thong song, The word 'humps' My Humps by the BEP. Kissing scenes on public TV gets snipped.This is hardly surprising as homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia. Malaysia has a long way to go before it catches up with other nations on human rights and censorship.On a more positive note, the ban probably serves to encourage more people to get the original version on the internet. All is not lost.

[Bmori]

11:07 AM on 03/20/2011

This country still executes people by hanging, they also use caning and torture. In the greater scheme of things, I think there are more important things to get outraged about than garbling lady gaga lyrics.

[Femonanon]

03:52 PM on 03/19/2011

I'm not the least surprised but that doesn't diminish my sadness about this kind of action. Why do so many people have a problem with love but not the hate in songs?

[LibertyRoy]

02:59 PM on 03/19/2011

I sense Gaga's fame has now peaked and will go into swift decline. The new phenom is Adele, who not only is dominating Gaga in the charts all over the world right now, but is being presented as the "anti-Gaga." Just go to ITunes and listen to her new single "Rolling In The Deep," and you will see why.

[ammsamm]

05:17 PM on 03/19/2011

She is wonderful - love her. Also "Someone Like you" is beautiful.

[Daniel Hicks]

04:06 PM on 03/21/2011

I'm not a huge fan of either singer. I'm not sure where you live, but if it's not in the United States, I can see why you think this. However, Lady Gaga certainly isn't going anywhere soon over here. She's coming out with a new album, keeps topping the charts, and was on Time's 100 Most Influential People list last yeat and probably this year too. By comparison, I have never mentioned Adele to anyone and had them recognize who she was.

And, while I personally love "Rolling in the Deep," I wouldn't call it 'new' at all. In any case, I've never heard it on the air here, and your hear Gaga at least once every two hours on certain stations. Even if Adele took over the rest of the world, Gaga could still do just fine in America alone, and I think she is doing just that. In any case, I don't see their musical styles as all that similar. I compare Ademe more to Florence and the Machine. They have, like, the same voice.

[flyjet787]

06:04 PM on 03/18/2011

More evidence that religious beliefs have no place in our (U.S.) secular society; lest we don't care if we end up more like Malaysia, in this case, than we already are.

[Dragontech]

11:47 AM on 03/19/2011

Sorry. listening to the rhetoric from the "Christian Majority" Republicans in the USA, we are anything but a secular society. If you think otherwise, try following a different faith and see the discrimination, hatred and fear that the Right directs at you. It is staggering. We are as religious a nation as Iran or Afghanistan ever were. And at times as totalitarian in support of one faith. It just is not spelled out on plain language in our laws.

[flyjet787]

01:12 PM on 03/19/2011

I am a humanist/atheist. I think my post was unclear. I said, "...if we end up more like Malaysia...THAN WE ALREADY ARE."

I agree with you that in many ways we look, taste, smell like a theocracy. I am forever, frustrated by fundamentalists who have such a strong hold on government here. The influence of religion in public policy in the U.S. is criminal (i.e. discrimination against people who are gay, attacks on abortion clinics and doctors, other attacks on a woman's right to choose, the building of edifices for the Christian 10 Commandments in public spaces, etc.)

I agree to a point that we are nearly "as religious a nation as Iran or Afghanistan..." However, fortunately, even our self-described "fundamentalists" are anything but. Muslims states, like the above mentioned countries, can truly be called fundamentalist - they DO obey, even the most repugnant, violent, rhetoric of their sacred books (honor killings). Fundie's here, thankfully, do not murder their disobedient children, kill their friends for working on the Sabbath, etc., as prescribed by the Christian Bible.

[LMPE]

03:26 PM on 03/18/2011

Is it a safe bet that the Malaysian authorities who rant against homosexuality are closeted gays who might end up in a situation like Ted Haggard or George Rekers?

[MMRDO]

10:00 AM on 03/19/2011

Or they're Muslims.

[morchid]

10:39 AM on 03/18/2011

before some (as always) come to bring religion in every sauce thing know that the producer of lady gaga (nadir khayat aka redone) is a moroccan muslim.

more malaysia can do what they want with legislation it is their problem

[SouthStJo]

03:05 PM on 03/18/2011

How do you get the idea that Redone is religious?
That's quit a assumption to make of someone

[Slacktoo]

06:59 AM on 03/18/2011

I love how everyone here is conveniently avoiding the actual issue at hand by saying "They should have just censored all of Lady Gaga's catalog!". This isn't about Lady Gaga, it's about popular music being stripped of homosexual references because the majority of people in the country (Malaysia—a majority Muslim nation) find homosexuality immoral. If it was another song by another artist, the result would be the same.

That's what's happening here. Period.

[flyjet787]

06:07 PM on 03/18/2011

And that is why successful (and truly free) societies disallow majority rule when it comes to equal rights for every citizen.

[reddy52]

08:31 PM on 03/21/2011

Why can't this society enforce their own values? Why do you people want every country to be the same?

[KeepLeft]

11:21 PM on 03/17/2011

me, I like this version better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0wi1m-89o

[Buddy Englett]

10:10 PM on 03/17/2011

In a world where the internet is almost as easily accessible as radio, I'm sure there are few in Malaysia who, once hear the edited version and like it enough to care, can't just go find a copy of the original version; they may even buy the whole album. I think it's fine to let the stations play the edited version of this, just like they've edited lots of rap music and other things they thought might get them in trouble with the authorities in charge.