2023-06-14 13:57:36
Malaysia has asked Interpol to locate an American comedian after a joke about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 sparked angry reactions in Southeast Asia, police said on Wednesday.
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Comedian Jocelyn Chia mentioned the air disaster on her show at the Comedy Cellar in New York in April, according to media reports, referring to strained relations between Malaysia and Singapore, where she grew up.
Flight MH370 which went missing in March 2014 is one of Malaysia’s deadliest air crashes, with 239 people on board presumed dead.
Such was the outrage over Jocelyn Chia’s joke that Malaysian police have launched an investigation under the offensive online content legislation, Johor state police said.
The southern state’s police chief, Kamarul Zaman Mamat, said Wednesday that authorities had sent a request to Interpol asking for “additional information on the suspect to assist in the investigation”, after received reports.
Malaysia and Singapore briefly formed a single state after the end of British colonization and separated in 1965.
Outcry on social media
Jocelyn Chia, of Singaporean origin, remarks in her show that while Singapore has become a developed country, in Malaysia “planes cannot fly”. “The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines isn’t funny, huh,” she continued, noting that “some jokes don’t land well.”
It caused an outcry on social media, followed by condemnation from senior officials in Malaysia and Singapore.
“I am appalled by his horrific statements,” Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan tweeted last week. “We cherish our family and friendship ties with Malaysia,” he said, apologizing for “the pain caused to all Malaysians. »
US-born former lawyer Jocelyn Chia defended herself by saying she had played this show “over a hundred times” without any issues.
“I own my joke, but with a nuance – I own it in its entirety,” she told CNN in comments broadcast on Sunday.
“On reflection, I understand that a music video seen outside the context of a comedy club is risky,” she added.
Commenting on the Malaysian police request, she tweeted on Wednesday that she “would love to see the face of the Interpol officer who received this request. »
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