Malaysia yesterday asked Interpol to help track down a US comedian, police said, after her joke about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 sparked fury and even an apology from Singapore.
Jocelyn Chia (謝必孜) told the joke during a set at the Comedy Cellar in New York City, reportedly in April, as she riffed on the historically testy relationship between Malaysia and Singapore, where she was raised.
MH370 went missing in March 2014, and is one of Malaysia’s deadliest aviation incidents, with all 239 people on board presumed dead.
Such was the outrage over Chia’s joke that Malaysian police began an investigation under incitement and offensive online content laws.
Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani on Tuesday said they would ask Interpol to help locate her, the Malaysian news agency Bernama reported.
The head of police in the southern state of Johor, Kamarul Zaman Mamat, said in a statement yesterday that the request had been filed.
Chia is being probed under public mischief laws that carry a jail term of up to two years.
Chia, who has roots in Singapore, said in her routine that it had since become a “first-world country” and that Malaysian “airplanes cannot fly.”
“Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny, huh,” she continued. “Some jokes don’t land.”
It caused an uproar on social media, followed by condemnations by top Malaysian officials including the foreign minister.
“I am appalled by her horrendous statements,” Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan wrote on Twitter last week.
“We treasure our ties with family and friends in Malaysia, and are sorry for the offence and hurt caused to all Malaysians,” he added.
Chia has stood by her joke despite the intense backlash.
The US-born former lawyer told CNN that she had performed that set “more than a hundred times” for more than a year without any problems.
“I do stand by my joke, but with some caveat — I stand by it in its entirety, when viewed in a comedy club,” she told the broadcaster in comments published on Sunday.
“Upon reflection I do see that having this as a clip that gets viewed out of a comedy club context was risky,” she added.
Chia was defiant even after Malaysia’s move to involve the international police body.
“Would love to see the face of the Interpol officer who received this request,” she wrote on Twitter.
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