PETALING JAYA: PJ MP Lee Chean Chung has expressed his disappointment with the recent decision by the Communications Ministry to cancel the permit of Sharul Channa at the eleventh hour, which in turn disrupted the comedy gig at the PJ Live Arts, here, yesterday.
In a statement, today, Lee opined that the cancellation marks a bad precedent that art performances can be cancelled anytime before the show if police reports were lodged against them.
“It also runs contrary to the government’s aim to boost the economy and establish Malaysia/Klang Valley as the hub for arts and entertainment.
“The cancellation is based on police reports made on an old video of her work from 2018 in which allegedly touched on 3R issues, despite the fact that the video has been approved by Malaysian censors, and also featured on Unifi TV back then as part of Comedy Central Asia’s Stand Up, Asia! #2,” he said.
Lee also said while Perikatan Nasional often resorted to fear tactics to restrict spaces for cultural and religious exchanges, the unity government should stand firm to protect the unique multicultural backgrounds and openness that made Malaysia as it is today.
“Rationality prevails if it comes with senses of humour,” he added.
The lawmaker’s statement comes after Sharul’s standup comedy gig at the PJ Live Arts, here, yesterday was cancelled following the Communications Ministry’s decision to cancel her work visa.
It is learnt that the decision came after multiple police reports were lodged following the Singaporean’s skit in 2018 where she touched on 3R issues involving race, religion and royalty.
In response via Instagram, Sharul expressed her disappointment that her work visa was cancelled despite giving her assurance that her show, here would not touch on 3R issues.
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