Comedy is in the news again in our country – and not in a good way. This time it’s the turn of Singaporean-born comedian Jocelyn Chia to face the wrath of Malaysians with her tasteless joke about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 during a recent stand-up comedy act in the United States.
In the clip posted on YouTube, Chia first poked fun at Malaysia’s ranking as a developing nation in comparison to our southern neighbour’s first world status. She then went on to say, rather venomously I might add, that our airplanes cannot fly, an obvious reference to MH370 that simply vanished from the face of the earth on March 8, 2014, taking with it the 239 passengers and crew aboard. When some members of the audience appeared uncomfortable with her remarks, she said that some jokes don’t land. Yep, she double-downed.
Those of us with any form of a social media presence has already seen the 89-second video clip of the so-called comedian at a comedy club in New York. It’s probably also already making the rounds of WhatsApp chat groups, fueling even more outrage among the group without Twitter or Instagram. Who knew that such a short clip could do so much damage to Malaysia-Singapore relations?
Ok, perhaps I exaggerate a little in stating that Chia’s act has damaged relations between the two nations but some Singapore government officials obviously felt that it was important to address the issue. Its Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said on Twitter that he was appalled by Chia’s horrendous statements while the country’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vanu Gopala Menon, said in a statement that he was “appalled by the gratuitously offensive comments”. He also said that Chia was no longer Singaporean.
Malaysians from all walks of life have joined in the discussion as well with many expressing outrage over the tasteless remarks. Stand-up comedian Harith Iskander posted a clip on his social media accounts stating that while he respected freedom of expression in his profession, it was important to exercise some level of sensitivity and empathy, especially with topics that are deeply personal and tragic. He said, “We need to be aware of the potential impact our words can have.”
And as for the embattled Chia, she began addressing the issue by adding smoke to the fire. She dug in her heels and insisted that she hadn’t done anything wrong by referencing MH370. In response to a critic on her Instagram page, she said: “Tragedy plus time = comedy. It’s been long enough man.”
While she may be right about time healing wounds, you don’t often hear comics poking fun at 9/11 or the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust, do you? Some things are just not fodder for jokes. Common sense – and human decency – should tell you that.
Elaine Claire is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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