M’sia Police Asking Interpol to Find Jocelyn Chia in the US

Jocelyn Chia is getting cancelled.

Who is Jocelyn Chia? She is a stand-up comedian who has recently found herself in hot water after making some questionable “jokes” about our closest neighbour, Malaysia.

Now, Chia is “hunted” by the Malaysian authorities, who have roped in Interpol to locate the comedian.

Here is what happened.

Malaysia Asked Interpol to Search for Jocelyn Chia

In the latest of the saga involving American-born Chia, Malaysian police have sought Interpol’s help to locate the comedian.

Bernama reported that Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani revealed that an “application” would be filed with Interpol to get Chia’s “full identity” and “latest location”.

There were no other details as to why Malaysian police were looking for Chia and what they intended to do after they found her.

Jocelyn Chia Made Distasteful Jokes About Malaysia

While we wait for more information about the unfolding drama, here is what happened between Chia and Malaysia.

Chia, a US citizen, made some insensitive “jokes” about Malaysia during one of her stand-up comedy shows in New York last month.

One of the “jokes” she had was poking fun at how Malaysia is a “developing country” even though Singapore is now a “first world country”.

For context, Chia grew up in Singapore and refers to Singapore as “her country”. The comparison she drew between Singapore and Malaysia was in the spirit of saying that the two countries are rivals.

Perhaps the more unacceptable remarks were what came next.

Chia also referenced the missing Malaysian plane (MH370) in her comedy piece, saying that Malaysian aeroplanes “cannot fly” and that some jokes “don’t land”.

Understandably, there was a lot of backlash when these jokes were floated to the public’s attention, given the insensitive comments about some sensitive situations.

After the incident, Singapore quickly distanced herself from Chia, with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan tweeting that Chia “certainly does not speak for Singaporeans”.

He also expressed that he was “appalled by [Chia’s] horrendous statements”.

I am appalled by her horrendous statements. She certainly does not speak for Singaporeans. We treasure our ties with family and friends in Malaysia, and are sorry for the offence and hurt caused to all Malaysians.

— Vivian Balakrishnan (@VivianBala) June 7, 2023

It appears, however, that Chia is not remorseful for her remarks.

Speaking to CNN, Chia said that she still “[does] stand by [her] joke,” which should be “viewed in a comedy club”.

She also defended her actions by saying that it is “common culture for comedians to ‘roast’ their live audience” and that there were Malaysians in the audience who “clearly didn’t take offence”.

What do you think?