Interpol is has been asked to track down a New York-based comedian at the request of Malaysia, because she told a joke about Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. While the joke was criminally un-funny, but she’s an American and this is an abuse of power that should concern all Americans.
Jocelyn Chia is being investigated for “incitement and offensive online content” according to Malaysian police officials. The Malaysian government is seeking her “full identity” and her “latest location” from Interpol.
At New York’s Comedy Cellar she talked in her routine about the breakup of Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore, she said, had become a “first world country” while Malaysia remained “developing.” She wondered why Malaysians don’t come visit Singapore after the breakup? Their planes “cannot fly” – a reference to Malaysia flight MH370which went missing nine years ago with 239 people on board and, despite a years-long search of the Indian Ocean, was never found.
Then, when she wasn’t met with laughter, she added “Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny huh? Some jokes don’t land.”
Singapore, where Ms. Chia grew up, has issued an apology – which their ambassador to Malaysia noting that she doesn’t speak for residents of Singapore, and their foreign minister condemning her “horrendous statements.” TikTok removed the video, because they’re a Chinese company and like Western social media doesn’t believe in free speech.
Honestly the statement isn’t horrendous, but as a joke it is. But it does underscore one of the more important points in social science – that societal outcomes aren’t strictly determined by geography or resources. Institutions matter. Like China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have different economic outcomes despite similar cultural backgrounds, the split of Singapore and Malaysia (which are easily drivable – you don’t actually have to fly) shows how different institutions prosperity and development differently.
Though Singapore was never known for civil liberties, it should be no surprise that the kleptocratic Malaysia uses state power on whims, merely when it ‘takes offence.’
(HT: @crucker)
“TikTok removed the video, because they’re a Chinese company and like Western social media doesn’t believe in free speech.”
What does this even mean, Gary?
Your sentence with “kleptocratic” in it may earn you the same fate.
TikTok is actually miles better on free speech than nearly every Western controlled social media site. Western social media actively interferes in free elections by pretending to be neutral and then banning or shadow banning content, messages, and etc. in violation of its user agreement. Before Musk took over Twitter, the FBI and other agencies told these companies what content to not allow to silence conservatives and political opponents.
I hope Gary’s line meant like western social media companies who don’t believe in free speech, tiktok also doesn’t believe in it.
This joke just isn’t appropriate in any way
I’m surprised that Interpol is agreeing. What basis would they use, making a bad joke?
hmmm…to quote your own (BBC) source “…an application was going to be filed with Interpol…”
You might want to recast your whole article accordingly…;)
Were you drunk when you wrote this, Gary? It’s completely senseless. This should be better titled, “How to Have a Thousand Incoherent Opinions In Seven Paragraphs.”
The joke was average but it was not at all offensive unless you’re a wuss.
“TikTok removed the video, because they’re a Chinese company and like Western social media doesn’t believe in free speech.
Honestly the statement isn’t horrendous, but as a joke it is. …
Malaysia uses state power on whims, merely when it ‘takes offence.’”
Really? How shameful!
Putting people on blacklists because a country has been offended by a person is not really limited to any subset of countries. Malaysia is a small fish as a users of blacklists to try to disrupt travel. The US is a big fish in blacklisting people, and some of the blacklisted people were blacklisted while still so young that they were in diapers.
Bad joke are every were.
The cancel mob outlawed comedy a long time ago.
@Stuart
No Sir that would be Tim Dunn!
Why people criticize every thing and what they see and hear?
It might seem that Singapore and Malaysia have similar cultural backgrounds if you don’t leave Penang or parts of Kuala Lumpur, but in actual fact the ethnic split is almost exactly reversed from Singapore. Also unlike Singapore, Malaysia practices a form of apartheid whereby it maintains a highly regimented and authoritarian set of affirmative action rules to make sure that the spoils of government are mostly directed towards the dominant group and subjects minorities to systematic discrimination preventing them from attending the best schools, civil service jobs, and government contracts.
Stick to credit cards and points Gary Leff.
Although some anti-American people have been attacking our free speech, the USA remains a free speech country. This comedienne was practicing free speech on American soil.
While I understand people of Malaysia were offended by the comedienne’s material, they have NO BUSINESS involving Interpol when no law was broken. Interpol should have declined to get involved. What is wrong with them???
When the CCP was caught with illegal police stations on USA soil we shut them down.
The USA should shut down this Interpol investigation.
Free speech in America should be cherished and protected.
Yet the rest of the world continually drains their envy/hate to the US (specially in TikTok), making super dark jokes and fun about the worst disgraces that happen in the US and nobody cares or do something.
Don’t come to Canada as Trudeau has taken away free speech and would probably hand her over.This is ridiculous that society has become so offended by everything.Our children and grandchildren will inherit all the craziness we are allowing to happen.So Sad.
@platy – subsequent sources reported on the application being filed
Comedy is a very nuanced profession. The shows you go to where every single joke lands and results in an audience uproar in laughter are the heavily refined product of many attempts in smaller venues to test the material on smaller audiences to see what works and what doesn’t. The MH370 joke has all the potential to be funny, if not edgy and slightly offensive (which also works fine in comedy). Sometimes it’s about knowing your audience. Sometimes it’s just about coming to realize that we’re not ready to joke about that particular tragedy yet. Also, who you are matters as well. South Park might be able to get away with stuff that others can’t. Even they can occasionally realize in retrospect that they missed their mark, and sometimes it’s not even realized until over a decade later.
Yes, the MH370 joke was in bad taste and likely shouldn’t be repeated. In a world where not everyone was recording everyone all the time, the joke clearly wouldn’t work and simply wouldn’t be used in future performances. Instead, there’s an international incident over an event that would have otherwise been forgotten about the next day.
@ Gary
Having trouble verifying your claim, Gary. Some articles appear to be misreporting the situation.
According to Interpol’s own website, for Interpol to become involved an appropriate request would need to be made and accepted – for example per issuance of a relevant notice (a blue notice “to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation”; a red notice “To seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence” etc).
Such notices are “published only if it complies with INTERPOL’s Constitution and fulfils all conditions for processing the information in accordance with our Rules on the Processing of Data…[and]…forbids the Organization from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character…”
Incidentally, “requests for notices are reviewed for compliance with INTERPOL’s rules by our Notices and Diffusions Task Force; this is a specialized multilingual and multidisciplinary task force comprising lawyers, police officers and operational specialists.”.
Given that only some 4,000 blue notices are published per year, one might postulate that the system isn’t generally / overly used wantonly for self aggrandising political / PR purposes.
Now impress by verifying that an Interpol notice has indeed been requested (and, ideally, approved and issued in pursuance of a criminal investigation).
Any readers with direct experience of Interpol might be able to confirm / nuance etc the information above gleaned from the Interpol website.
I’m fairly certain this article was written by AI, because it makes no sense whatsoever.
Malaysia police had said in a statement that it made a request to Interpol on Jun 13 to get more information about the comedian.
However, according to a news report by Channel News Asia, there was no such request received by Interpol.
“KUALA LUMPUR: There has been no request for assistance from Interpol by Malaysia in locating comedian Jocelyn Chia as of Wednesday (Jun 14).
As of today, Wednesday Jun 14, no request for a notice or diffusion from Malaysia has been received in relation to this individual,” an Interpol spokesperson told CNA.
The spokesperson added that if any request for assistance is made, it must be “compliant with Interpol’s Constitution which forbids any activities which are religious, racial, military or political in nature”.
“Any request associated with offences related to freedom of expression would also be assessed in line with international human rights standards,” said the Interpol spokesperson.
Requests which do not comply with the rules or offence criteria would be refused, the spokesperson stressed.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-jocelyn-chia-interpol-comedian-probe-no-assistance-request-mh370-3563241