‘Despacito’ banned over un-Islamic lyrics

The most streamed song on the internet around the world, ‘Despacito’ is now facing a ban in Malaysia; the country has banned the song for having un-Islamic and obscene language.

The ban is restricted to the government run state radio and television but private stations or YouTube and other music streaming services are free to enjoy the song. The ban was implied by the Communication Minister Salled Said Keruak on late Wednesday after the song was reviewed on public complaint for containing obscene lyrics.

Salleh also urged private radio stations in Malaysia to censor the song due to its sensitive nature. ‘Despacito’ was previously denounced by another Islamic party Amanah, the party called out Malaysian Airwaves to stop playing the song on the plane as younger children are being affected by the track without understanding the lyrics. “We respect the right to be entertained but there should be clearer guidelines so that the entertainment does not spoil people but makes them better,” party official Atriza Umar told The Star newspaper.

Puerto Rican artists Luis Fonsi and Dadddy Yankee released their record breaking Spanish song ‘Despacito’ in January which means ‘slowly’ in English. The original song has more than 2.6 billion views on YouTube alone, together with the remix with Justin Bieber. The track is the most streamed song on the internet having more than 4.6 billion plays across all streaming platforms beating the previous record holder song ‘Sorry’ by Justin Bieber.