A popular Hawaiian singer used his performance at a dinner of world leaders hosted by President Barack Obama to voice his support for the 'Occupy' movement.

Makana was enlisted to play a luau, or Hawaiian feast, for members of the Pacific Rim who had gathered in Obama's birthplace Honolulu for an annual summit formulating plans for a Pacific free-trade pact.

During the meal on the resort strip Waikiki Beach, he proudly pulled open his jacket to reveal a T-shirt which read 'Occupy with Aloha' - using the Hawaiian word which include love and peace.

He went on to sing a 45-minute version of his new song We Are The Many, which features the refrain: 'We'll occupy the streets, we'll occupy the courts, we'll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.'

Makana said the song prompted awkward stares from a few in the audience, but the Obamas appeared too engrossed with their guests to even notice what was happening.

The attendees may also not have noticed the 'challenging' nature of Makana’s lyrics because the music was so mellow, it was mooted on CNN.

Reports that, halfway through the performance, President Obama yelled 'Play Freebird!' have not been confirmed.

After the performance, Makana, 33, said: 'I was pretty nervous. In fact I was terrified. I kept thinking 'what are the consequences going to be?'

The performance occurred at a dinner on Saturday night for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit participants from 21 economies around the Asia-Pacific, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, amid a security lockdown in Waikiki.

As Makana sang, about 400 protesters including anti-globalisation and native Hawaiian rights activists staged a protest march toward the dinner site, but turned back after encountering the smothering security.

Makana released the song on the Internet the day before and decided to play it at the behest of fans, he said.

He sang it 'over and over' for 40 minutes, varying his tempo and delivery to avoid triggering an overt reaction.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)