Student rapper Wee Meng Chee came under fire from an Umno MP over the Negarakuku lyrics, which some deem to be insulting to 'the nation, Rulers and Islam'.

Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading, photo ), in posing a supplementary question to Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim, called Wee "an animal" in the Dewan Rakyat today.

"This is a question on behalf of the people. They are confused because so far no one has given a concrete response to this situation. They are waiting to find out what kind of punishment will be meted out against Wee," he said.

Wee, 24, also known as Namewee, has suffered stinging criticism, especially from Umno politicians, over the six-minute Mandarin rap song juxtaposed with the national anthem.

While posted in YouTube, it was viewed by nearly half a million visitors to the website.

Although Wee has apologised , the cabinet, while accepting it, said that the law would have to take its due course on the matter, adding that the Attorney-General's Chambers will decide whether or not to prosecute Wee.

In another supplementary question, Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) asked if the government would study the lyrics in order to understand the viewpoints in context.

"Will the government... look into the issues (raised in) the lyrics, rather than lash out at Wee?" she asked.

She also urged the government to implement policies that will enable all citizens to feel sense of belonging to the country.

At this juncture, Mohamad and Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) accused Fong of trying to heighten tensions among the various communities.

'Leave it to court'

Rais, who responded to both questions, said: "It is not right for us to accuse a person of a crime before a fair trial is conducted.

"We need to allow the judicial system to consider action against Wee, who could have violated the National Anthem Act. This is the best way to do it," he said.

Rais also stressed that the government and the leaders have always respected the social contract signed before Independence.

"We respect everyone's views, even if these are unfavourable to the government," he claimed, adding that Parliament is the most suitable place to voice such viewpoints.

"If we cannot settle it in Parliament, we can take the matter (to voters) during elections. Other than that, there are no other ways to determine if one is dissatisfied with what is happening in the country."