SEPANG: "Comedy for me is very important because it unifies people. I always use that as my motivating factor," said comedian Harith Iskander at Kuala Lumpur International Airport here, today.
He arrived late morning fresh from winning the Funniest Person in the World title at Laugh Factory's global competition in Lapland, Finland.
The ecstatic comedian said: "Thank you to everyone for being there for me and for supporting me."
He also thanked Tourism Malaysia for their support.
"It was definitely an overwhelming moment onstage when I was officially named Funniest Person in the World by (Laugh Factory founder) Jamie Masada," he added.
Masada had said during the competition that "Harith is obviously very professional, has star quality and will go far."
Harith beat almost 90 other contestants worldwide to win the title at the finals on Dec 8 at the Hullu Pork Areena in Levi, Lapland.
His performance was streamed live on Laugh Factory's YouTube channel to a worldwide audience for online voting.
Harith was the clear winner after amassing over 3.6 million votes.
The win awards him with a year-long comedy tour of the US and a USD100,000 (RM440,000) cash prize.
Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, who was present said: "We are pleased with this recognition which will give Harith the opportunity to speak at many more occasions all over the world.
"His year-long tour of the US and other parts of the world will help raise the awareness of Malaysia particularly as a friendly and fun destination."