SINGAPORE: Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon on Thursday (Jun 8) said he was appalled by “gratuitously offensive comments” made by comedian Jocelyn Chia during a stand-up performance in New York.
In a video clip of Chia performing at the Comedy Cellar club, she can be seen making jokes about Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia.
She commented on Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in 1965, saying that Singapore has gone on to become a first-world country and that Malaysia was “still a developing” one.
Chia also said that Malaysian airplanes “can’t fly” and that “some jokes don’t land”, in an apparent reference to Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which went missing on Mar 8, 2014.
“The Singapore government does not condone words or actions that cause harm or hurt to others,” said Mr Menon, adding that Chia was “no longer Singaporean” and that she did not “in any way reflect our views”.
“I sincerely apologise to all Malaysians for her hurtful remarks.”
Mr Menon said comments like Chia’s were “unhelpful and undermine the close trust and friendship that both our countries and peoples enjoy”.
Chia’s website describes her as a “lawyer turned comedian originally from Singapore” and a regular performer in New York City.