MALAYSIAN stand-up comedians insist they crack jokes to entertain, not to insult, after a woman was charged with insulting Islam at a comedy club open mic night.

They told The Malaysian Insight that their jokes are meant to make the audience laugh, but not everyone’s sense of humour is the same.

“Often insults are taken and not given. Most comedians, myself included, never intend to insult,” stand-up comedian and actor Harith Iskander Musa told The Malaysian Insight.

“So I would say look at the intention rather than the ‘feelings’ of a person in the audience,” said Harith, who won the Funniest Person in the World competition in 2016.

He said in his experience, there was no way of knowing how the audience would react to a joke.

“This is part of the issue, where it shouldn’t be a case of adjusting or changing material in case someone takes offence,” Harith said.

Last week, the Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail was ordered to close temporarily by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), following a controversial incident when a woman performing during an open mic session removed her outer clothing and hijab to reveal a mini skirt and a spaghetti-strap top.

Deputy Federal Territories Minister Jalaluddin Alias said the decision to close the club was to send a message that the ministry and DBKL would not tolerate behaviour disrespecting the sensitivities of religion, race or sovereignty.

It was later revealed that the woman and her boyfriend targeted Merdekarya before ending up in Crackhouse Comedy Club.

Harith, however, said this incident will not see the curtains coming down on stand-up comedians.

“I don’t believe that this ‘platform’ will be seen as the problem,” he said.

“I trust the Malaysian public and authorities can tell the difference between what individuals (like the lady who took off her headscarf on stage) do and how they need to take responsibility for their actions.”

Harith also said he believes this fiasco has made the small comedy community stronger.

“Looking forward, we are taking steps to address this issue and create the right perception of what we do to the public.

“It is a valuable lesson not just for comedians but also a chance for us to learn abd educate others on what stand-up comedians actually do,” he said.

Another comedian, Phoon Chi Ho, also said the comedy club incident will not put an end to the stand-up comedy scene in Malaysia.

“Stand-up comedy is an internationally accepted art form and it’s a skill that comedians can bring along anywhere we go,” Phoon said.

“Despite the incident, we have not lost any of our audiences who actually come to watch us and understand our art form,” said Phoon, who was runner-up in Astro’s Gelak Gempak 2021.

He, however, said he does not have an answer to how a comedian determines whether a joke is offensive or not.

“I have told the same jokes to different crowds and they’ve all reacted differently.

“When I started out more than a decade ago, we had nothing of that sort. Today, some of my comedy peers are getting flak for the jokes that they have been telling for over a decade. So, the question is, why now?” he asked.

He admitted that these are dangerous times for comedians, especially after the Crackhouse incident.

“On one hand, it’s an unprecedented time for comedy in Malaysia. On the other hand, stand-up comedy is finally being noticed by the entities that we’ve been trying to push our shows to – the media,” said Phoon.

When asked if the comedy scene in Malaysia will recover from this incident, Phoon said they will just have to plough through.

“That is the nature of comedy and stand-up comedy. We don’t stop.

He added that comedians have a wealth of family-friendly and clean jokes Malaysians can enjoy.

Preshant Menon, 26, who has been a stand-up comedian for seven years, also said the incident at Crackhouse is a huge message to all independent performers, to be mindful of what they say on stage, as it represents the community.

Preshant said as a comedian all they try to do is to be funny.

“And we will do almost anything to do that. Talk about almost anything and get a laugh. And we are wise enough to try these materials in comedy clubs, which is like a religious place for us comedians.

“We won’t use any ‘offensive’ material at dinner functions or corporate events,” said Preshant, who is also an emcee and event company owner.

Preshant also thinks Malaysia is maturing in terms of accepting comedy for what it is.

“Things like this come and will resurface in future. I hope it’s for the better of the comedy scene.

“If anything, it did make stand-up comedy quite viral in Malaysia this past week,” said Preshant, who also performs at the Crackhouse Comedy Club.

He said those who are now attacking comedians for what happened last week have to understand that the person who started this whole fiasco was not and is not a stand-up comedian.

“She isn’t a regular comedian in clubs. So let’s not be quick to generalise all comedians,” Preshant said.

“Also, her performance was not at all funny. The public should try checking out another proper comedy show before they start judging us,” he said.

Last Wednesday, Siti Nuramira Abdullah claimed trial to a charge under section 298A of the penal code with causing disharmony among the Muslim community during her performance at the Crackhouse Comedy Club.

Her boyfriend Alexander Navin Vijayachandran was also charged under section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for uploading insulting content on social media.

The couple were released on bail yesterday after a sum of RM40,000 was raised through crowdfunding organised by legal rights group Lawyers for Liberty. – July 19, 2022.