Let police and MCMC probe comedian's remarks, says DPM

KUALA LUMPUR: The police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will conduct any investigation deemed fit into a Singaporean comedian's disparaging remarks about Malaysia, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"We will leave it to the MCMC and the police to investigate before handing the matter over to the Attorney General's Chamber for the next step," he told reporters briefly at the Umno general assembly's media centre at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (June 8).

Earlier, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh also called on wing members to march to the United States embassy here on Friday (June 9) to protest the remarks made by the stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia.

"This is an insult which cannot be accepted by Umno Youth and Malaysians.

"I have directed an Umno Youth exco member to lodge a police report against her today.

"We call on the government to ban her from stepping foot in Malaysia," he said when addressing delegates at the youth's wing meeting.

Chia – who was performing at a comedy club in the United States – first joked about Malaysia being a developing country that was far behind Singapore, 40 years after the island nation was "dumped" by Malaysia in 1965.

She then crudely referenced the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 tragedy in a joke about Malaysia seeking to re-establish ties with Singapore.

"Why haven't you (Malaysia) paid me a visit in 40 years?" she said in a monologue.

In another voice, she said: "I tried, but you know, our airplanes can't fly," as a graphic of a Malaysia Airlines plane flashed on the screen,

"What, Malaysia Airlines going missing is not funny, huh?

"Some jokes don't land," she said in an apparent reference to Flight MH370, which vanished on March 8, 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China.

The fate of its 239 passengers and crew are unknown to today.