Australian Music Icon Kamahl Says No to the Indigenous Voice

“I’m voting NO because I don’t understand it!” Kamahl wrote on social media.

Kamahl performs during the Multicultural round during the round 19 AFL match between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Fremantle Dockers at Spotless Stadium on July 29, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Famous Malaysian-born Australian singer and artist Kamahl has announced he will not be backing a change to the Australian Constitution.

The 88-year-old said he opposed the centre-left Labor government’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which would alter the Australian constitution to recognise Indigenous people and to create a permanent advisory body to the Parliament.

“I’m voting NO because I don’t understand it!” Kamahl wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sep. 13.

He also pointed to his song “What is Australia to Me” which was recorded in 1988, saying the lyrics explained his decision to vote no.

“What’s the voice / I don’t understand it / It’s just noise / And it’s not clear / Vote no / We’re not going / To vote apartheid / We don’t want / One race privilege,” according to the lyrics of the song.

His stance comes as Australians prepare to go to the polls to decide whether to enshrine The Voice into the Constitution. The date of the referendum is Oct. 14.

Kamahl, whose real name is Kandiah Kamalesvaran, is an Australian music icon, with his song “Sounds of Goodbye” reaching the Top 20 on the Kent Music Report singles chart and “The Elephant Song” topping the Dutch Top 40.

Kamahl was also one of the first artists to appear in concert at the Sydney Opera House and was a judge on The X-Factor.

The Voice Entrenches Division: Indigenous Senator

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Price has argued that The Voice is “a pathway to division.”