KUALA LUMPUR: Popular comedian Harith Iskander is one of 89 international stand-up comedians nominated for Laugh Factory’s Funniest Person In The World.
He is one of two Malaysians in the running, the other being Dr Jason Leong who is best known as a member of the comedy quartet the Malaysian Association of Chinese Comedians.
“Life Factory, a stand-up comedy company from the US, invited me to submit a video of myself doing stand-up comedy in order to be part of the competition. We’re now in Round One, where our supporters vote for us online, and the last time I checked my votes, which is noon, I’ve got 299,919,” he told the New Straits Times.
According to Harith, voting of Round One began on Sept 1 and will end on Oct 1. The 20 comedians with the highest votes will proceed to the semi-finals which will be held in Helsinki, Finland, on Dec 4 and 5.
“The 20 funny men will be performing before a live audience in Helsinki, and only five will proceed to the finals based on points awarded by professional judges. The five finalists will once again receive online votes, from Dec 6 to 10, until the finalist with the highest votes is proclaimed the winner,” he said.
The winner will receive US$100,000 (RM400,000) and a US stand-up comedy tour.
Harith, who receives full support from his family, especially his wife Dr Jezamine Lim, is confident that he will make it far in the competition.
“My 26 years in comedy give me a strong chance to be a winner. I call on my fans to vote me to represent our country in the finals, and show the world that we have world class stand up comedians.”
Fans can vote Harith at http://bit.ly/VoteForHarith