‘Singaporean’ comedian not Singaporean, High Commissioner express dismay over joke

SHAH ALAM – Reports have surfaced that the “Singaporean” comedian who started her stand-up routine in a New York club by insulting Malaysia is no longer a Singaporean citizen.

Based on content previously posted by the comedian Jocelyn Chia on her now-deleted Instagram account, it showed that she had migrated to United States a few years back.

The Singapore High Commissioner has also since come forward to say that the woman is no longer Singaporean and her remarks did not reflect the country’s views.

Republic of Singapore to Malaysia’s High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon said he was appalled by the gratuitously offensive comments made by stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia.

“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.

“I sincerely apologise to all Malaysians for her hurtful remarks,” he said in a statement.

Vanu said as neighbours, Singapore and Malaysia enjoy a strong and multi-faceted relationship, with deep and cross-cutting ties.

He also stressed that the countries have unique historical and close people-to-people ties.

“Comments such as those made by Chia are unhelpful and undermine the close trust and friendship that both our countries and peoples enjoy,” the statement read.

A video surfaced on social media yesterday depicting Chia started her standup routine at Comedy Cellar in Manhattan, New York by making jokes that insults Malaysia's economic development and the tragic disappearance of MH370.

Chia opened her routine by sharing the history of Singapore to the audience.

After making the statement, she asked one of the audience members about their origin and upon learning that the person was from Malaysia, she responded by saying, "F--k you a--holes."

She also said Malaysian planes cannot fly and Malaysian airlines going missing is not funny.

Intan Maizura Othaman, the wife of one of the crew members of MH370 had since expressed anger towards Chia.

The wife of Mohd Hazrin Mohamed Hasnan in her Facebook wrote: "Leave MH370 out of your humourless depression comic.

She highlighted Chia’s material is insensitive and offensive to a lot of people.

"When you attend a show that features unfunny comedian, this is what you get to take distasteful cheap shots using controversial issues to gain quick popularity.

“Remember people, inferiority and insecurity can sometimes turn people into this ugly self-loathing persona and manifest itself as an awkward and heartless or maybe brainless comic,” Intan claimed.