COMMENT | Maybe one day, the state will ban comedy

“Saya juga mengharapkan pihak berwajib menyelidik adakah kejadian ini dirancang oleh pihak tertentu yang dengan sengaja ingin memburukkan imej agama Islam.”

- Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor

COMMENT | As reported in the press, Kavin Jay, a collaborator with Crackhouse Comedy Club, said that participants of the club’s open mic night were warned beforehand that “they should not make jokes that are insulting to any group of people”.

This is a rather strange warning for a comedy club.

Maybe things have changed but during the raucous atmosphere of the club circuit back in the noughties, all manner of groups of people were the target of good-natured ribbing by comedians, and more often than not, people were laughing with and not at, these groups of people.

Indeed, online you will find a diverse group of comedians who regularly make fun of the eccentricities of...