KUALA LUMPUR – The Royal Malaysia Police will seek Interpol’s help to obtain the full identity and current location of comedian Jocelyn Chia who mocked Malaysia and made fun of the MH370 tragedy.
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the application would be made tomorrow to enable further investigations to be carried out, Bernama reports.
“This case will be investigated under Section 504/505(c) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Multimedia Communications Act 1998,” he said.
Acryl Sani was speaking at a press conference after an event at Tunku Ampuan Besar Tuanku Aishah Rohani Children’s Specialist Hospital in Cheras in conjunction with celebrations for the national 216th Police Day.
Police had also made an application to the Communications and Multimedia Commission for “profiles” of Chia used on social media.
“In addition, (police) have also made a transcript of the suspect’s speech in the video clip,” he said, referring to the excerpt of her comedy performance that went viral.
The excerpt of Chia’s performance came to light recently on social media, where she mocked the missing flight MH370 by saying that Malaysia’s planes do not land, while also berating the country and telling a Malaysian member of the audience to “f**k off”.
After outcry from Malaysians, Singapore high commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon condemned Chia’s “hurtful” jokes, and said she was confirmed to no longer be a Singaporean citizen.
Various quarters, including some local comedians and political figures, have condemned Chia, with Umno Youth calling for a protest against her outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has also described the comedian’s jokes as offensive and insensitive.
In remarks to CNN, Chia said she still stood by her joke, adding that there was context missing when that part of her performance was extracted and edited into a short clip for social media. – The Vibes, June 13, 2023
