Comedy club in centre of “religious insult” controversy vandalised

THE comedy club that hosted several performances that have since gone viral and led to two individuals being charged in court, has been vandalised.According to local news reports, the signboard of Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) was splashed with red paint in the wee hours of today morning, as were its entrance and posters outside the club.Free Malaysia Today reported Kuala Lumpur police Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim as receiving a police report on the matter this morning.

The comedy club is currently embroiled in several controversies sparked by performances it hosted. It all started with Siti Nuramira Abdullah’s controversial performance at the club last month.

In a bizarre skit that went viral online, she said she could cite 15 verses of the Quran, before discarding her headscarf and baju kurung. Critics had claimed was distasteful and offensive to Islam.

Crackhouse has distanced itself from Siti’s performance. It also banned Siti from the venue after her performance, as well as her boyfriend, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, who was also in attendance.

On Wednesday (July 13), Siti claimed trial to a charge of causing disharmony on grounds of religion among Muslims. Alexander was charged on the same day as well, for uploading a video of her performance on social media.

The authorities have since arrested Crackhouse Comedy Club co-founder Rizal van Geyzel, over previous comedy skits of his, which were reported as being offensive to Malays, and temporarily suspended the club’s operating license.Earlier today, Siti was arrested by Federal Territories Islamic religious department (Jawi) officials soon after posting her RM20,000 bail.She will be charged in the Shariah High court tomorrow under Section 7 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act, which criminalises insults to Islam, even as activists cautioned against double jeopardy. — July 19, 2022
Main photo credit: FMT

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