Stand-up comedian no longer Singaporean, says High Commissioner

PETALING JAYA: Stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia is no longer Singaporean, says the nation's High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon.

In a statement issued on Thursday (June 8), Menon said that he is appalled by the "gratuitously offensive comments" made by Chia in her performance.

"The Singapore Government does not condone words or actions that cause harm or hurt to others and Chia, who is no longer Singaporean, does not in any way reflect our views," said Menon.

"I sincerely apologise to all Malaysians for her hurtful remarks," he added.

Menon said that as Singapore's closest neighbour, both nations enjoy a strong and multi-faceted relationship with deep and cross-cutting ties.

"Comments such as those made by Chia are unhelpful and undermine the close trust and friendship that both our countries and peoples enjoy," he added.

This comes after Chia used the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in her stand-up comedy routine.

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.

"My country, Singapore, after we gained independence from the British, we were a struggling little nation.

"In order to survive, we formed a union with a larger, more powerful country, Malaysia.

"When my prime minister went on TV to announce that you guys had dumped us, he cried because he thought we were not going to survive without you.

"But then, 40 years later, we became a first-world country."

"And you guys? Malaysia, what are you now? Still a developing country," she says sarcastically in a video shared on her Instagram account.

Chia then crudely references 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 says in a monologue.

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

This draws a few gasps from the audience but Jocelyn doubles down on the joke.

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

"Some jokes don't land," she says 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.