Global Courant
When you joke about tragedies, how soon is too soon?
Singapore-born comedienne Jocelyn Chia made fun of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 on a recent stand-up comedy show in the US, sparking debate over whether certain topics are off limits as comedy material.
An 89-second video clip from her set posted to Instagram showed New York-based Chia mocking the ongoing Singapore-Malaysia rivalry, making several expletive-laden snipes at Malaysians in the audience.
“When my prime minister announced on TV that you had dumped us, he cried because he thought we wouldn’t survive without you,” Chia said, referring to Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who announced the island nation’s secession. . from Malaysia in 1965.
“But 40 years later we became a first world country. And you, Malaysia, what are you now? Still a developing country,” she said with a laugh at the Comedy Cellar in New York City.
“Now, Malaysia, you’re all trying to get by, like, ‘Hey Singapore, you look good, lah.’ And we said, ‘I know, but why haven’t you visited me in 40 years?’,” she added.
“And (Malaysia) like, ‘Yeah, I tried, but you know, my planes can’t fly,'” Chia said to more laughter but also audible cries from the crowd.
“Why, Malaysian airlines going missing, not funny huh? Some jokes don’t land,” she said, referring to the MH370 plane that left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in March 2014 but never arrived. To date, the aircraft has not been located.
The clip sparked the ire of many Malaysians shortly after it was posted.
Radio broadcaster Kudsia Kahar was a Malaysian who took offense by writing on Twitter that she drew the line of turning MH370 into a joke.
“Not acceptable. A good stand-up never turns tragedy and death into a joke,” she said.
Renowned Malaysian stand-up comedian and actor Harith Iskander also weighed in on Wednesday, noting that Chia’s joke showed “insensitivity” to the MH370 tragedy.
“I respect the freedom of expression that we comedians need to do our jobs,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.
“But it’s just as important to show a certain amount of sensitivity and empathy when creating certain material, especially on topics that are deeply personal or tragic.
