US comedian Sammy Obeid has accused Singapore’s media regulator of censorship after his forthcoming show was cancelled, but officials say his permit was rejected due to a late application submission.
Obeid, who was set to perform at Singapore’s Victoria Theatre on 31 August, said in a statement on Instagram that his script was “rejected twice” by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and that he was ultimately told a permit would not be issued. He alleged that officials asked him to remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel.
However, IMDA rejected Obeid’s claims, stating that the event was cancelled because the licence application had been submitted on 15 August, only 10 working days before the performance, well short of the 40-working-day requirement. IMDA added that the applicant is “an experienced licence applicant” and was informed on 19 August and again on 25 that the late application could not be processed.
Obeid told the South China Morning Post that he understood Singapore has strict rules, but maintained that the content was the issue. He is currently scheduled to take his tour to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Japan, and South Korea.
