'Further steps' against comedian Sammy Obeid's censorship claim may be necessary, Edwin Tong says

American stand-up comedian Sammy Obeid's claims regarding his cancelled shows in Singapore are "completely fictional", Law Minister Edwin Tong told media at Siglap South Community Centre on Sunday (Aug 31).

Tong told the media that Obeid "implied that IMDA (Info-communications Media Development Authority) wanted to edit his script" and that several rounds of proposed edits took place.

"Let me be clear, there was not a single edit requested by IMDA on the script," he said. "In fact, there were no communications with Obeid on the script, and his own agent has confirmed this."

Tong, who is also the Second Minister of Home Affairs, added: "I welcome the opportunity to set the record right."

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Obeid denied lying, also uploading videos of conversations with an unidentified individual over the phone who tells him to remove “anything that has to do with Palestine and Israel”.

He had earlier made posts on social media last Wednesday (Aug 27) claiming that he had to go through "hours of paperwork" to obtain licenses and submit his "script" for approval.

His "script", which was purportedly almost entirely focused on the genocide in Gaza, allegedly went through multiple rounds of editing before his license to perform in Singapore was rejected.

Conversely, IMDA said on Aug 28 that they never edited the script, explaining that they had rejected his performance because Obeid's representative made the application 10 working days before his scheduled show.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (@imdasg)

License applications have to be submitted 40 working days prior to a show, Tong shared on Sunday.

"What Obeid has described simply did not happen," he said, adding that he wasn't sure why the comedian made those claims.

"Obeid has put out a completely fictional account of what transpired between him and IMDA," Tong stated, adding that "further steps" might be necessary.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com