Making Malaysia Airlines MH370 'Can't Fly,' Malaysia Collaborates With Interpol To Chase Comedian Jocelyn Chia

MH370 theoretical search maps (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Malaysia is looking for Interpol assistance to track down a comedian based in New York, Jocelyn Chia. The reason is that the comedian threw jokes about the loss of Malaysia Airlines MH370 flights. Jocelyn Chia is a US citizen and raised in Singapore. He is being investigated under law regarding incitement and offensive online content. Chia's joke was uploaded last week and sparked official protests from Malaysia and an apology from Singapore. MH370 disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpur in March 2014. Although a four-year search in the Indian Ocean, the main parts of the aircraft were never found. A total of 239 people on board are thought to have died. Malaysia's national police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said a request would be submitted to Interpol to obtain a complete identity and the latest location for Chia. The dispute began after he posted a clip of his latest stand-up set at the Manhattan Comedy Warehouse. That includes a routine of historic competition between Singapore and Malaysia, which used to be part of the same country. Noting that Singapore has risen to become the "first world country" while Malaysia remains "evolved", he joked that Malaysian planes "cannot fly". Ms Chia added, "Malaysia Airlines will disappear, isn't it funny? Some jokes don't land." The video, which caused a stir in Malaysia and has been removed by TikTok, said it violated hate speech guidelines. Singaporean ambassador to Malaysia said Chia did not represent Singaporeans. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Baskrishnan condemned Chia's statement. On Sunday, Chia told CNN she had done a routine "more than 100 times" without a problem.

He added that he supported the joke and that the clip had been taken out of context.