Although designating it as a serious offence, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the Malaysian student in Taiwan who mocked the national anthem will not be stripped of his citizenship.

The student, Wee Men Chee, 24, had posted the rap song title Negarakuku on video website YouTube .

Nearly half a million people have viewed the six-minute video clip, which showcases Wee, who also goes by the handle Namewee, rapping in Chinese on several national issues.

The clip has since earned the wrath of various quarters, including government leaders, and Wee has since apologised for it.

Syed Hamid said investigations against the student would continue according to the process of the law despite him having apologised.

"If someone has committed an offence, he/she will be punished according to the law and (in this case) we cannot simply strip him/her of his/her (Malaysian) citizenship," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

The minister advised all quarters not to be emotional and to look at the matter rationally.

He said the government accepted the apology from the student but that he would not escape the law for making a mockery of the national anthem.

"It is good that he realised his mistake and is remorseful. But the question on the law will be decided by the authorities concerned. We have to show that the law is above everybody, let it be a lesson," he added.

On Wee's apology being delivered through MCA vice-president Dr Chua Soi Lek, Syed Hamid said the action by the MCA leader should be praised and hoped the matter would not be politicised by any quarters.

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Meanwhile in Kangar, the Perlis Malay Association (Pemanis) called for action to be taken against Wee as a lesson to all Malaysians.

Its president, Mohd Zain Hamzah said the question of the student having apologised did not arise, instead Wee should realise the implications of his action.

"It beats the purpose of having a law in the country if someone who commits an offence can escape punishment just by apologising for his/her mistake," he told Bernama today.

He said the association concurred with Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim that investigation be conducted on the student despite him having apologised for his mistake.

Yesterday, de facto Law Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said Wee could be charged under the Sedition Act for insulting the symbol of the nation.

He added that Wee was not a boy but an adult who should be held responsible for the act.

"It is not an issue of ethnicity or being racial but against national interest," he said.

"Malaysia Negarakuku . 'Ku ku' can also mean 'cuckoo' so it was insulting. I don't think this was done out of ignorance. He was a university student and he meant to insult the national song," he added.

In the Hokkien dialect, 'ku ku' could also translate to penis, longevity or cheap.

While Nazri said that the cabinet had refused to accept Wee's apology, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi however argued that the apology could be accepted but the law would still have to take its course.