Purple Light has not been banned, Mindef clarifies

SINGAPORE - Purple Light, the popular army song usually sang out by soldiers during route marches, has not been banned, says the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).

The song was reportedly outlawed after the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) made a complaint three months ago against certain verses which may be mistakenly construed as condoning violence towards women.

However, Mindef has since clarified that the song has not been struck off the repertoire, though steps are being taken to stop the offending verses from being sung in the SAF.

The ministry also said that the offensive verses were modified independently by some groups, and that it was not authorised.

Posting screenshot of the original lyrics on the ministry's cyberpioneer facebook page, a spokesperson for the ministry wrote:

"We understand that there have been some concerns about a ban on the popular marching song Purple Light because of an offending verse.

"We would like to clarify that Purple Light has not been banned.

"However, steps have been taken to stop the offending verse from being sung in the SAF, as it runs contrary to the values of our organisation and should not be condoned.

"The original verse uses the following lyrics 'Booking out, saw my girlfriend / Saw her with another man / Broken heart, back to Army / With my rifle and my buddy and me.'

"The modifications were done independently by some groups during their march, and is not authorised."

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