Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander sued by Rosmah over pontianak joke

KUALA LUMPUR: A defamation lawsuit was filed by Rosmah Mansor against the comedian Harith Iskander, who had compared the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak to a pontianak during a routine he performed earlier this year.

Mdm Rosmah is said to have felt insulted and mocked by Mr Harith’s performance, and is seeking an unconditional apology from him, along with damages to be determined by the court.

Mdm Rosmah’s legal team said the joke took place on Jan 17 during Harith Iskander’s The Outspoken Comedy Tour at the Swiss-Garden Hotel in Melaka. They claimed that the comedian had intentionally defamed Mdm Rosmah by using a visual display in front of the audience.

The lawsuit was filed at the High Court on Jun 9, according to reporting from The Star. It quoted a statement of claim that said the comic had shown “images of scary mythological creatures in the Malaysian community,” such as the pontianak, tool, and pocong, and then showed the image of Mdm Rosmah to the audience “as part of the narrative in the joke” of Mr Harith.

The pontianak is the most well-known ghost in Southeast Asia. She is said to be the vengeful undead spirit of a pregnant woman who died. A tool is a small, bald supernatural baby with green skin that steals people’s money or valuables, and a pocong, or “wrapped ghost,” is a dead body in a burial shroud.

According to Mdm Rosmah’s claim, the statements and visual display made during Mr Harith’s routine had been made with the purpose of harming her good name, dignity, social standing, and reputation, as well as to insult her through body shaming.

In the comic’s reply, he denied that his joke had been defamatory and malicious, saying that the two videos uploaded on TikTok that form the basis of Mdm Rosmah’s claim do not represent the entirety of his routine.

While the whole show lasted one and a half hours, the image of Mdm Rosmah had only been displayed for under five seconds.

Furthermore, these videos were uploaded without his knowledge and consent and were done so against his show’s house rules. 

The comic was quoted in the report as saying, “The display was momentary as it was not the main theme or the focus of the defendant’s show. It was not recurring and could not be separated from the entire context of the comedy show.”

Mdm Rosmah has until Jul 30 to reply to Mr Harith’s statement, and the case is set for case management on Jul 31. /TISG

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