Islam No Joking Matter, Malaysian Stand-up Comics Say amid Creeping Conservatism

Comedian Harith Iskander speaking at The Cooler Lumpur
Festival in Kuala Lumpur, June 13, 2015.

MALAY MAIL ONLINE: KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Jokes about race, religion and sex often form the magic bag of comedians worldwide but Malaysian comics are giving Islam a wide berth for fear of arrest and even death, as conservatism takes roots in this multicultural nation.

Comedian Jason Leong said he and fellow comics have lampooned Christianity and Buddhism, but not Islam, the predominant religion in Malaysia.

“What is difficult is making jokes about Islam, or as my friend calls it, Muslimism; we don’t wanna get arrested, we don’t wanna die,” Leong told a packed audience at a session titled “Killing Sacred Cows: Comedy in the Age of Offence” at the Cooler Lumpur Festival here yesterday.

Another popular comedian Harith Iskandar, who was also at the session, said topics related to Muslim culture would have to be packaged in layers so as to have safeguards.

“If someone is videotaping it, we could get into serious trouble, regardless of whether I myself am a Malay-Muslim,” he said. » | Boo Su-Lyn | Sunday, June 14, 2015