MH370 joke: ' Comedians should know sensitivity, empathy'

SHAH ALAM - Famous comedian Harith Iskander steps up to comment on Singaporean comedian Jocelyn Chia's tasteless joke on the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight tragedy, stating that comedians should have sensitivity and empathy while performing as it could have concern for Malaysians.

"As a comedian, I respect the freedom of expression given to us comedians, but it is equally important to exercise some level of sensitivity and empathy when doing certain materials, especially on topics that are deeply personal and tragic.

"Comedy can become a powerful tool for social commentary, but it must be used responsibly," he said on Wednesday.

Chia had belittled and insulted the country through her stand-up comedy performance and it was described as extreme by social media users.

The woman had used the MH370 tragedy as a joke which angered netizens.

The viral one-minute 29-second video uploaded on TikTok saw the comedian describing Malaysia's development falling far behind Singapore which was a first-world country after 40 years of being separated from Tanah Melayu.

Harith said comedians as artists must realise the impact of the words that come out of their mouths.

"Comedy like all art forms is a subjective form of expression. That means what's funny for one person may not be necessarily funny for someone else.

"Jocelyn should have been smarter to realise that when choosing a Malaysian and touching on the MH370 topic," he said.