Jocelyn Chia defends comedy routine, says needs to be taken in context

PETALING JAYA: Stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia has defended the performance in which she made a joke about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, saying that her show should be seen in its entirety.

She said the performance at a Manhattan comedy club was a routine she had performed "more than 100 times" before and the particular joke which caused a furore should be seen in the necessary context or it would be missed.

"I do stand by my joke but with some caveat - I stand by its entirety, when viewed in a comedy club.

"Upon reflection, I do see that having this as a clip that gets viewed out of a comedy club context was risky," Chia said in remarks to CNN over the issue.

She also told CNN that Singaporeans have long had a friendly rivalry with Malaysia and it was what the joke was based on, adding that she bears no grudge against Malaysia.

"It is also a common culture for comedians to 'roast' their live audience," she added.

Malaysian audience members often come up to Chia after her shows to tell her that they loved her gig, she claimed in her remarks to CNN, which showed “they clearly didn’t take offence”.

Chia's jokes on Malaysia and MH370 raised the ire of the country and Singapore where she made a jibe about the flight's disappearance and uttered profanities towards Malaysian audiences while praising Singapore.

Singapore has distanced itself from the act, with its High Commissioner to Malaysia saying Chia is not a citizen of the island state any more.

Bernama, in its latest tweet, also said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryll Sani Abdullah Sani was seeking Interpol's cooperation to access Chia's full identity and location.