Songwriter’s lyrics changed to lampoon Government

GEORGE TOWN: A Malaysian singer-songwriter has lodged a police report after finding out that lyrics of his song had been changed to ridicule the Government over the murder of Kim Jong-nam.

The lyrics to Jovi Theng’s song entitled Hai Xiao (Tidal Wave) was made famous by Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu.

Theng, 41, who was in Penang for a holiday, said he became upset when a friend forwarded to him a link of the edited video clip on Facebook.

“It was even more hurtful that Yu and my name were also mentioned in the video.

“Following the advice of my lawyer, I lodged a report on Friday,” he said.

Theng said he feared for his safety as Jong-nam’s murder was a sensitive issue.

“I want to stress to everybody that I am not involved or responsible for this. I am worried that the video may further worsen diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea,” he said.

Theng has written songs for top Chinese pop stars such as Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Power Station, Chyi Chin, S.H.E, Z-Chen, Andy Hui and F4.

He is best known for the 2001 hit Qing Fei De Yi (Can’t Help Falling for You), sung by Yu and used as the opening theme for the Taiwanese series Meteor Garden.

For the past few years, Theng took on minor acting roles and singing theme songs for Singaporean movies such as Ah Long Pte Ltd (2008), Love Matters (2009), and the hit movie We Not Naughty (2012).

He was involved in Malaysian movies such as the highly-rated Nasi Lemak 2.0 (2011), Kepong Gangster (2012), Pasar Malam (2014) and Wira Wah (2015).

He was also the director of the movie Love Endures (2015), a heartwarming family-oriented flick showcasing his hometown of Sekinchan in Selangor.