HK iMail
Singapore
June 6, 2001


SINGAPORE is standing firm on its ban on pop star Janet Jackson's latest album, All For You, tossing out an appeal to release the album with its sexually explicit ballad, Would You Mind.

The steamy lyrics of the song were deemed by the Publications Appeal Committee, made up of academics and professionals, to be ``not acceptable to our society''.

Jackson's label EMI had filed the appeal after the Films and Publications Department (FPB) said last month the record had been outlawed because of its ``sexually explicit lyrics''.

EMI said it was now trying to persuade the singer's management to delete the offending track from the album for Singapore.

But, although the record cannot be bought in Singapore, Jackson fans can still access and download Would You Mind from the Internet.

Strictly regulated Singapore takes a hard line on pornography, banning magazines showing even partial nudity, blocking many Internet sites considered obscene and censoring graphic scenes in movies.

An episode of popular TV show Ally McBeal was dropped last year because it showed Ally, played by Calista Flockhart, and her colleague Ling, played by Lucy Liu, kissing each other on the lips.

All controversial records ``such as those promoting violence or drug abuse, containing explicit sexual lyrics or sensitive racial and religious remarks'', had to be reviewed, a Film and Publications Department spokeswoman said.