Stand-up comedy will flourish under Pakatan govt, comic Jason Leong says

PETALING JAYA, June 9 ― Ask comedian Dr Jason Leong about who the funniest people in Malaysia are right now, and he will gladly say his senior Douglas Lim... or fugitive ‘Red Shirts’ leader Datuk Jamal Md Yunos.

While the former may give you an idea of Dr Leong’s yardstick of Malaysian humour, the latter betrays where he stands on the political spectrum.

If you are one of Dr Leong’s 10.9k followers on Instagram, then the comedian’s active commentary on Malaysian politics, particularly last month’s general election, requires no introduction.

Following the political change Malaysians witnessed during last month’s general election, the medical doctor-turned-comic said there is now an endless source of material for his craft.

Under ousted coalition Barisan Nasional, he admitted Malaysian comedians had to exercise caution on overtly political material.

“It’s an interesting time because prior to GE14, the politicians in the then-ruling party were very funny, they were comedy gold but the climate of fear is such that we couldn’t really make jokes about them or mock them," Dr Leong told Malay Mail.

But things are different now.

“Now, the climate of fear is gone, people are more liberal and there’s more freedom to joke ―  the source of the material still comes from the former ruling party, people who are on the losing end of the election,” he said.

After all, coming up with fresh, hilarious material is the toughest part of the job.

“Fortunately for me, Malaysian politics is very funny and with GE14, a lot of new stuff has come out and my brain worked overtime.

“Comedians reflect a lot on society so I told myself it’s time to write GE14 jokes ― I tried it out at open mics and it went well,” Dr Leong said.

He said the new Malaysia is reflective of people’s attitudes towards stand-up comedy.

Leong is currently touring several Asian cities to perform his new show ‘Ambitious’. — Picture by Ham Abu Bakar

“I believe the comedy scene will be liberalised from now on and this goes for the entire arts industry because last time, we had a lot of censorship.

“Stand-up comedy will flourish, so will the film and television industry ― things will change,” said Leong.

But there is one challenge in performing GE14 jokes: just about every comedian will be pouncing on the newly attained freedom.

“Everyone is making jokes about GE14 so a stand-up comedian must be able to write jokes that the layperson isn’t thinking about,” he said.

Following last year’s success of You Stupid or What, the 33-year-old is embarking on a brand new one-hour solo stand-up Ambitious.

Featuring completely new material, Dr Leong will perform in various Asian cities and major cities in Malaysia.

“The professional benchmark I’ve set myself every year is a new one-hour show every year which is the same standard for professional comedians all over the world,” he said.

He recently brought Ambitious to Penang, followed by India and will perform in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor Baru, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong from now until July.

“This is the first time I’m doing a tour at quite a large theatre here at Temple of Fine Arts in KL ― there are almost 700 seats a night which amounts to 2,800 seats available, it’s a big jump from last year,” he said.

Catch Ambitious from June 29 to July 1 at Shantanand Auditorium, Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur. Tickets are priced at RM40, RM50 and RM60, available at jasonleong.my.