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Singaporean's MH370 'joke': Freedom of expression is necessary, but comedians must not cross certain lines, says Harith Iskander

KUALA LUMPUR: Renowned Malaysian stand-up comedian Harith Iskander said comedians must be mindful of sensitive sentiments and practice empathy when performing a stand-up comedy.

In a two-minute video posted on Instagram, Harith responded to a joke made by Jocelyn Chia, a Singaporean stand-up comedian about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which had riled up Malaysians on social media.

"As a comedian, I respect the freedom of expression we comedians require to do our job.

"But it is equally important to exercise some level of sensitivity and empathy when doing certain material, especially deeply personal or tragic topics."

Harith said comedy could be a powerful tool for social commentary; but must be used responsibly.

"Comedians, as artistes, need to be aware of the potential impact our words can have.

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

He added that Chia should have been "smarter" when cracking jokes, especially when picking on Malaysian audiences and bringing up MH370.

Meanwhile, Muar member of parliament, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman also took to social media over the insensitive nature of the joke made by the comedian, saying that it was inappropriate.

"I must say that turning a tragedy into a source of entertainment is just 'bad taste'.

"But I have good faith in my fellow Singaporean friends, and I'm sure we all deeply cherish our close relations as nations.

"Whatever it is, let's not allow one bad seed to tarnish our outlook to our neighbour. Take it as a lesson by not taking lightly other people's misfortunes," he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, the Singaporean stand-up comedian's 89-second video clip had made the rounds on social media after she joked about, among others, the Malaysia Airlines flight that vanished on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing, China.

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