Sammy Obeid’s Asia tour will take him to 11 cities – excluding Singapore – in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Japan, and South Korea. -- PHOTO: SAMMY OBEID/INSTAGRAM
SINGAPORE (AFP): A US comedian critical of Israel's actions in Gaza has accused Singaporean authorities of censorship for refusing to grant a permit for his show, but regulators rejected his claims on Friday.
Sammy Obeid said in a social media post that his stand-up comedy performance in the city-state, scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled after regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) did not issue a permit, despite him submitting a much toned-down script.
Aware of Singapore's reputation for being strict, Obeid said that he "erred on the side of caution and submitted a heavily censored script that only referenced Palestine a few times" and mentioned Israel once, as he wanted the show to proceed.
"After waiting weeks and weeks, the script was rejected... I was told to completely remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel," he said.
IMDA said Friday in response to an AFP query that Obeid made a number of "inaccurate" allegations.
The application for a license to hold the show was rejected because it was submitted only 10 working days before the event, a spokesperson for the authority said.
Applications are "required to be submitted at least 40 working days before the event, to allow sufficient time for applications to be processed or advisories to be included in publicity materials and advertisements," IMDA said.
"IMDA had not requested for any edits to be made on the script. At no time, were 'multiple edits' requested," the authority added.
Singapore, one of Asia's safest countries, has strict regulations against topics like race and religion in a bid to maintain harmony among its ethnically diverse population that covers a Chinese majority, with substantial Malay and Indian minorities.
Obeid has said he plans to hold shows in other Asian locations, including Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo.
