Ministry bans Khmer song with sexually explicit lyrics

Culture and Fine Arts Ministry officials question Ex Chantha over the song. Facebook

The Culture and Fine Arts Ministry yesterday banned a newly released song containing sexually explicit lyrics and called in the composer for questioning.

Ministry spokesman Long Ponnasirivath said the Khmer song “Kandeav Oun Sruoy,” sung by an artist using the stage name Boramy, was being aired on Domrey TV’s YouTube channel.

He said the lyrics contained explicit references to the female genitals and several listeners have complained about the song’s vulgar nature.

Mr. Ponnasirivath, following the criticisms on social media earlier this week, called in the composer Ex Chantha and issued him an official warning over the lyrics.

He said Mr. Chantha, who owns Domrey TV, was also educated on the ministry’s guidelines concerning songwriting.

“The song has since been removed from the YouTube channel. He promised not to produce lyrics containing sexual content anymore,” Mr. Ponnasirivath said, adding that Mr. Chantha was not fined as it was his first offense.

“We really want to motivate local talent to produce more songs as we acknowledge it is also a tool to promote the country’s culture and tradition. I acknowledge that our old songs also have lyrics which have sexual innuendo but they are subtle and not explicit like those produced by some modern-day songwriters,” he added.

After the meeting, Mr. Chantha acknowledged his mistake and wrote a public apology which the ministry distributed to the media.

“I will register a new production company following legal procedure and I will use my talent in a positive way to promote the value of Cambodian arts and traditions,” he said in the written statement.

Mr. Ponnasirivath warned that if Mr. Chantha produces any more songs containing banned lyrics, the ministry will take legal action against him.

This is not the first time that the ministry has taken action against illicit content on social media. To tackle the proliferation of illicit content on social media effectively, it formed a council in April to track down such content.

“We don’t condone or encourage writers to produce content which has wordings or actions which could lower our culture’s value,” Mr. Ponnasirivath said.