KUALA LUMPUR – Singaporean stand-up comedian Sharul Channa’s stand-up comedy special Just Joking!, scheduled for later tonight at the PJ Live Arts, has been called off after her work visa was cancelled by the Communications Ministry.
The cancellation of her visa comes after it was found that the comedian had touched on 3R (religion, race, and royalty) issues in her old videos.
Organiser Laugh Labs Entertainment Sdn Bhd’s chief executive Phoon Chi Ho said several police reports were made about her videos back in 2018 that touched on the sensitive 3R issues.
Speaking to Scoop, Phoon confirmed that Sharul’s work visa, which was approved on February 13, was rejected yesterday.
“We are in the midst of finalising the details of a replacement show that includes top comedians. Official info will be out on cloudjoi.com,” he said when contacted.
When asked for further information regarding the viral videos from 2018, Phoon said those videos titled “Halal Certified Comedian” are not featured on Sharul’s social media platforms anymore.
“This video was a snippet from the show Comedy Central: Stand Up Asia! 2, which was recorded in Malaysia back in 2018.”
“The show featured comedians from all over Asia, so if the process is done correctly for the recording to proceed, Sharul would have had her permits and scripts approved back in 2018 to do what was on that video.
“Now, even though the video is not on her social media pages, it has somehow popped back up to determine the fate of her latest show,” he said.
The show organiser is offering two options to ticket buyers as they can either opt for a refund or join the replacement show, which would feature local acts at the same time and venue.
Those who opt for a refund will need to wait for approximately two weeks.
“The local acts who will be performing later tonight will be Mad Sabah, Rizal van Geyzel, Shamaine Othman, Hindra Bose, and other ‘surprise appearances’ are awaiting the audiences,” Phoon said. – May 18, 2024