‘Now people want to come see me', Jocelyn Chia's stands firm after joking about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370

Jocelyn Chia, a stand-up comedian, performed a routine at the Comedy Cellar in Manhattan during the spring. This routine had been a consistent part of her sets for over a year and focused on the historical tension between Singapore, her hometown, and neighboring Malaysia.

However, when Chia and the comedy club shared a clip from her 7th April performance on TikTok and Instagram this week, it triggered a strong negative reaction. The 89-second video featured Chia engaging in banter with an audience member who identified himself as Malaysian who was furious over Chia making a remark about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014.The fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has never been definitively determined, although occasional findings of debris, suspected to be associated with the aircraft, have been made.

She began by implying that since Singapore and Malaysia separated in 1965, Singapore had progressed to become a first-world country, while insinuating that Malaysia had stayed as a "developing" nation. Following that, she targeted Malaysian airplanes by suggesting their inability to fly before making what many interpreted as a reference to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Singapore says "why haven't you visited me in 40 years?" and you're (Malaysia) like “yeah, I tried, but you know, my airplanes cannot fly!”, she said.

With a humorous tone, she quipped, "What? Malaysia Airlines going missing not funny, huh?" eliciting laughter from the audience, and concluded with her punchline, “Some jokes don't land.”

Chia's social media accounts were inundated with comments from angry Malaysians expressing their discontent. TikTok even removed a clip of her joke, deeming it as "hateful behavior" and a violation of their community guidelines.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs in Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, tweeted condemning Chia's remarks and issuing an apology on behalf of her "horrendous comments." In a tweet, he made it clear that her views did not represent the sentiments of Singaporeans.

Chia mentioned that the Malaysian audience often approached her after her shows to express their enjoyment of her performance, indicating that they did not take offense to her jokes.

The joke has sparked significant controversy in both Malaysia and Singapore, gaining widespread attention after it went viral online in recent days. In Malaysia, the youth wing of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), one of the country's largest political parties, organized a march to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Friday to protest what they perceive as an insult. Meanwhile, Singapore has distanced itself from Chia, who, according to her website, is originally from the city-state in Asia. The Singaporean authorities have offered apologies to Malaysia in light of the incident.

Singapore's High Commissioner, Vanu Gopala Menon, made a statement to Malaysia emphasizing that “The Singapore Government does not condone words or actions that cause harm or hurt to others and Chia, who is no longer Singaporean”. He further emphasized“(Chia) does not in any way reflect our views”. Menon expressed that Chia's joke contained "gratuitously offensive comments" and offered a sincere apology to all Malaysians for the hurtful nature of her remarks.

After seeing such criticism, she says “I’m in no way canceled in America, in any sense of the word,” she said. “Now people want to come see me.” “I do stand by my joke but with some caveat – I stand by it in its entirety, when viewed in a comedy club. Upon reflection I do see that having this as a clip that gets viewed out of a comedy club context was risky,” she said.

She added Singaporeans have long had a friendly rivalry with Malaysia and it was what the joke was based on, adding that she bears no grudge against Malaysia. It was also a common culture for comedians to “roast” their live audience, she added.

Despite facing criticism, Chia stated that she has not faced any form of cancellation in the United States and, in fact, has seen an increase in interest from people wanting to attend her shows. She maintained her stance on the joke but acknowledged that presenting it as a standalone clip outside of the comedy club context was a risky decision upon reflection. Chia highlighted that Singaporeans and Malaysians have historically shared a friendly rivalry, which was the basis of her joke. She emphasized that she holds no grudge against Malaysia and explained that it is a common practice for comedians to engage in light-hearted "roasting" of their live audience.

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