Envoy says comedian Jocelyn Chia ‘not Singaporean’ as Malaysia rages at MH370 joke

The city state’s high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur apologised to Malaysians for Chia’s ‘hurtful remarks’ made at a New York comedy club
The Singapore-raised comic reportedly deactivated her social media accounts as foreign ministers from both countries denounced her act

Malaysia

Hadi Azmi

Published: 11:34am, 8 Jun 2023

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Corrected [3:03pm, 28 Jun, 2023]

[3:03pm, 28 Jun, 2023]
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Jocelyn Chia was born in Singapore. The story has been amended to reflect that she was born in the US and raised in Singapore.

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The outcry over a US-born, Singapore-raised comedian’s joke about missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 intensified on Thursday, as the city state’s high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur issued an apology, foreign ministers from both countries weighed in and the performer appeared to have deactivated several social media pages.

In a statement posted just after midnight on Thursday, High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon offered his apology to all Malaysians for Jocelyn Chia’s “hurtful remarks” in her skit made at a New York comedy club and shared over her TikTok and Instagram accounts.

Calling the remarks about the missing airliner as well as Chia’s other comments about Malaysia “gratuitously offensive”, Menon clarified that she is no longer a citizen of Singapore, and the comments she made do not reflect the views of the city state.

“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,” he said.

‘This joke kills’: Singaporean comic enrages Malaysia with MH370 gag

In her skit Chia, a former lawyer-turned-comedian told an audience of New York’s Comedy Cellar Club that Singapore had beaten the odds after separating from Malaysia in 1965 and emerged as the more successful partner from the short two-year union, calling it the “best break-up revenge”.

She dedicated the show to Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, “without whom Singapore would not be what it is today.”

Malaysians and Singaporeans trade banter over their shared differences and similarities in language, culture and food.

But Chia’s off-colour joke about MH370 provoked outrage across Malaysian social media, crossing a line of decency in the eyes of many.

Her Twitter account has since been suspended and it appears that she has taken down her Instagram account which hosted the offending video. Her TikTok account is still available online, with the video being her latest post.

Jocelyn Chia in a still from a TikTok video of her performance at a New York comedy club. Photo: TikTok/@ComedyCellarUSA

The skit earlier caught the attention of Malaysia’s foreign ministry which issued a statement panning Chia’s comment, calling it a blatant absence of sensitivity and empathy towards Malaysians and the victims of the plane mystery.

“I hope that any form of action or attempt like this can be stopped to ensure respect for any country continues to be preserved,” said Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir.

Apologising for the offence caused, his Singapore counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan said he was “appalled” by the jokes.

“She certainly does not speak for Singaporeans, we treasure our ties with family and friends in Malaysia,” he tweeted.

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News of the high commissioner’s apology and announcement that she is “no longer Singaporean” was met with bemusement in Malaysia with people quipping that she lost her citizenship over the joke.

“Imagine losing citizenship of the country you grew up in for making insensitive ‘break-up revenge’ jokes to your neighbour,” said one Twitter user.

Others applauded the Singapore envoy for apologising on Chia’s behalf especially since she is no longer a citizen.