Singaporean stand-up comedian Sharul Channa's show in Malaysia on May 18 was cancelled by the Malaysian authorities, allegedly after multiple police reports were made against one of her videos from 2018 that touched on religion, royalty, and race.
Taking to Instagram, Sharul said that her work visa was cancelled on May 17, 2024, by Malaysia's Ministry of Communication.
This is despite having the show's license approved a month prior, and assuring that her set does not touch on religion, royalty, or race.
"It is a very disappointing matter for me as it must be for you who bought tickets and all the Singaporeans. You know, we have so many Malaysian artists coming to Singapore and performing seamlessly and we always welcome them and we feel that as Singapore artists when we come into Malaysia, we would also be welcomed with open arms," said Sharul.
"I stand with all of you and I really apologise from the bottom of my heart that the show had to be cancelled."
Video from 2018
The police reports lodged against Sharul allegedly involved a snippet from "Comedy Central: Stand Up Asia! 2".
The snippet was recorded in Malaysia in 2018.
The video, which is recirculating on social media, is titled "Halal Certified Comedian".
Speaking to Malaysian news portal Scoop, organiser Laugh Labs Entertainment Sdn Bhd's chief executive Phoon Chi Ho said that the video "somehow popped back up" despite it not being on Sharul's social media platforms anymore.
“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," said Sharul.
Refund or attend new last-minute gala show
Sharul was set to perform a one-woman stand-up comedy show "Just Joking" at the PJ Live Arts Centre (PJLA), Kuala Lumpur.
Following the cancellation, attendees were given the option to either receive a refund or attend a new last-minute gala show featuring local comedians such as Mad Sabah, Rizal van Geyzel, Shamaine Othman, and Hindra Bose.
Top image via thesharulchanna/Instagram and cloudjoi.