KUALA LUMPUR: Singaporean stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia has drawn ire for a joke about missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
In an 89-second video clip posted to one of her social media accounts yesterday, she joked about Malaysia being a developing country that is far behind and was once "abandoned" by Singapore.
"My country is Singapore. After we gained independence from the British, we were a struggling little nation.
"In order to survive, we formed a union with a larger, more powerful country, Malaysia.
"When my prime minister went on TV to announce that you guys had dumped us, he cried because he thought we were not going to survive without you.
"But then, 40 years later, we became a first-world country."
"And you guys? Malaysia, what are you now? Still a developing country," she said during a performance at Comedy Cellar in New York, the United States.
She also joked about Malaysia seeking to re-establish ties with Singapore.
"Why haven't you (Malaysia) paid me a visit in 40 years?
"I tried, but you know, our airplanes can't fly.
"What, Malaysia Airlines going missing is not funny, huh?
"Some jokes don't land," she said, in an apparent reference to Flight MH370 that vanished on March 8, 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing, China.
The flight was carrying 239 passengers.
Intan Maizura Othaman, wife of MH370 crew member Mohd Hazrin Mohamed Hasnan, left a comment on the video.
"When you attend a show that features an incompetent lawyer turned unfunny comedian, this is what you get. Epitome of heinous human!"
Media personality Kudsia Kahar said Chia's jokes were unacceptable.
"I am a huge supporter of stand-up comedians, especially from this region.
"I don't care that this Singaporean said 'f*** you, Malaysia' because we make fun of them on stage too.
"But I draw the line at turning MH370 into a joke. Not acceptable.
"A good stand-up never turns tragedy and deaths into a joke," she said.