THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today granted the owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club leave to apply for a judicial review against City Hall (DBKL) for revoking their operating licence prohibiting them from ever registering a business in the city.

Justice Amarjeet Singh allowed co-owners Rizal van Geyzel and Shankar R. Santhiram permission to attempt to quash DBKL’s July decision.

The two are seeking a declaration that DBKL’s decision to terminate the club’s business licence and to bar the duo from ever doing business again in Kuala Lumpur  was “illegal, unreasonable, irrational, invalid, unconstitutional, and of no effect”.

They are also seeking exemplary and aggravated damages.

The blacklisting followed the suspension of the comedy club’s licence last July over a viral video clip showing a stand-up comedian at the club removing her baju kurung to reveal a dress underneath.

The woman, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, was fined RM8,000 last month after she admitted guilt to saying words with the deliberate intention of hurting the feelings of others.

Rizal was arrested when old videos of controversial comedy performances resurfaced following the controversial video. He was charged with uploading videos to social media platforms that allegedly offended racial and religious sensitivities. – May 23, 2023.