Malaysia’s ‘sex cult’ couple controversy escalates as police investigate comedy club owner

He was held for investigation into the couple’s stunt and after videos surfaced of him making jokes about race, religion in a skit
Some comedians who supported the Crackhouse Comedy Club after it was ordered shut have retracted their support

Malaysia

Hadi Azmi

Published: 8:57pm, 15 Jul 2022

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The owner of the Malaysian comedy club that hosted a couple involved in a controversial routine has now been dragged into the saga, after authorities launched a separate probe into his remarks at the venue.

Authorities detained Rizal van Geyzel, the owner of Crackhouse Comedy Club, on Thursday for investigations into the couple’s striptease stunt and his own skits.

He was due to be released late on Friday after a magistrate rejected the police’s request to detain him for four days.

In his past routines, video clips of which have surfaced in recent days, van Geyzel joked about race and religion, and took jabs at his biracial heritage, which some social media commenters perceived as insults.

The Crackhouse Comedy Club played host to a controversial act by Siti Nuramira Abdullah, 26, on June 4.

Siti and her boyfriend Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, 38, remain in police custody after being charged in court on Wednesday for the routine, where Siti claims to have memorised half the Koran – Islam’s holy text – while she undresses from her modest traditional attire to reveal a spaghetti-strap dress underneath.

Navin filmed the routine and uploaded the 54-second video to the couple’s YouTube channel. Siti was charged with causing disharmony and hatred, while Vijayachandran was charged with using social media to promote and upload insulting content. Both pleaded not guilty.

Earlier, van Geyzel had earned the sympathy of a wide swathe of Malaysian social media users as many thought he had been inadvertently dragged into controversy by the couple. Some in the entertainment industry described them as promoting a “sex cult”. Their social media accounts promote their swinging lifestyle and share risqué content.

But after videos of van Geyzel’s comedy routines involving Islam surfaced, public opinion about him turned somewhat, at least within the majority-Muslim community.

Cheap slanderous jokes like these lead to racial hatred among non-Muslims towards Islam

Activist Khalid Ismath from the Malaysian Socialist Party

“Cheap slanderous jokes like these lead to racial hatred among non-Muslims towards Islam,” said activist Khalid Ismath from the Malaysian Socialist Party on Twitter.

Some of the country’s leading stand-up comedians who co-signed a letter stating their support for Crackhouse Comedy Club following the couple’s stunt also retracted their support in light of the latest developments.

One such figure was comedian-turned-politician Afdlin Shauki from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party. Afdlin said he could not condone comedic acts that insulted religions.

“The acts of insulting the religion that I am proud of (Islam) makes me disgusted and I can no longer support Crackhouse Comedy Club,” Afdlin said on Facebook.

He had previously criticised the club’s forced closure after local authorities suspended its licence in the wake of the striptease stunt.

Amirudin Shari, the chief minister of the wealthy state of Selangor and a senior PKR leader, also slammed the club and van Geyzel, saying the comedian’s routines were “sinful comedy”.

Others accused the likes of Amirudin of pandering to the country’s Muslim conservatives, noting that the PKR – a multiracial party – had a long history of condoning dissent and being even-handed when it came to religious matters.

“Even [Amirudin] is talking nonsense. Is Malaysian politics a race to the right?” asked Twitter user Hanif Yazid.

As of late Friday, Siti and Vijayachandran, the couple at the centre of the controversy, remain in custody as they have been unable to post bail of 20,000 ringgit (US$4,500) each.