Malaysian health ministry did not say song Apt promotes 'unhealthy lifestyle', contrary to reports

The Malaysian health ministry has clarified that a social media post slamming the new song Apt by Blackpink's Rose and Bruno Mars was not made by them, contrary to recent reports.

The claim was made by South Korea media Kyunghyang on Oct 28, sharing a photo that reads: "Dissecting the song lyrics of Apt: These lyrics are clearly advocating a lifestyle that isn't healthy and normalises Western culture."

Kyunghyang also claimed that the ministry had said the song was "frequently used in social media videos, integrating into daily life" and that there was a risk of children singing along to it without knowing its meaning.

Apt was released by Rose and Bruno on Oct 18 with the title based on a Korean drinking game apateu (apartment) and lyrics including "Don't you want me like I want you, baby? / Don't you need me like I need you now? / Sleep tomorrow, but tonight, go crazy / All you gotta do is just meet me at the / Apateu".

Other Korean media outlets including MBC and Hankook Ilbo also reported on it, before it was picked up by English-language websites like Allkpop and Koreaboo.

The ministry responded to Koreaboo on X yesterday (Oct 29), saying that "the statements regarding this article attributed to MOH have not been issued or authorised by the Government of Malaysia".

They added that the social media post being quoted by publications was made by "an entity which is not linked to the Ministry in any form whatsoever" and asked their audience to only rely on official channels for verified information on public health matters.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia wishes to clarify that any statements regarding this article attributed to MOH have not been issued or authorized by the Government of Malaysia.

In this regard, we would like to highlight that the posting was made by an entity which is not… https://t.co/dQ6asSLC8j

— KKMalaysia🇲🇾🩺❤️ (@KKMPutrajaya) October 29, 2024

A search by AsiaOne showed that the original post was made by a Facebook page called Public Health Malaysia, unrelated to the Malaysian government.

Apt currently sits at over 202 million views on YouTube and made its debut at number one on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding US charts. It dethroned another Bruno Mars song on the former, his collaboration with Lady Gaga on Die With A Smile.

It also debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top 100.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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