Malaysians should be magnanimous in accepting an apology by Negarakuku rapper Wee Meng Chong as his MTV-style online video which mocked the national anthem was due to his ignorance.

This was the verdict of Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, who in the past has been a fierce and vocal critic of bloggers for their criticisms of the government.

"He should not be punished but instead be guided and educated to enable him to understand the basics and to distinguish between political and national issues," Zainuddin told reporters late yesterday, as reported by Bernama .

The minister said the 24-year-old Wee, a mass communication student at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan, had made the mistake by choosing the national anthem and mocking it because he was young and unable to assess the sensitivities in the country.

As such, Zainuddin said, the society must accept the apology by Wee Meng Chong who has regretted mocking the national anthem and making racial slurs.

After two weeks of threats from Umno politicians, Wee yesterday issued an open apology to those who were offended by his work.

Wee's music video Negarakuku which attracted more than a million views on video sharing website YouTube earned the wrath of Umno for allegedly insulting Malays and Islam.

"Following this controversy, I would like to offer an explanation and openly apologise to all Malaysians who feel insulted and offended by my actions," said Wee in an emailed press statement in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese.

Wee also expressed his apology to the government and the people during a 30-minute telephone conversation with MCA vice-president Dr Chua Soi Lek yesterday.

DAP under fire

On this score, Zainuddin praised the role played MCA, especially its president Ong Ka Ting, for taking a pro-active stance by not turning the issue into a racial issue.

However the minister was less forgiving on the actions by several other groups, especially opposition parties, which he claimed took advantage of the issue and tried to turn it into a racial matter.

"There are political parties, for instance, the DAP has offered Wee to be its member just because he was vocal in criticising the government. I regret very much things like these," he said.

Zainuddin said that now that Wee had asked to be forgiven, everyone should just let the matter settle and not continue to harp on the issue.