KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — Lawyers representing the co-owners of the Crackhouse Comedy Club have demanded that the Kuala Lumpur mayor reverse the ban on the premises and its owners’ freedom to open businesses in Kuala Lumpur, within two days.
News portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported lawyers from Karpal Singh and Co as saying that they will sue Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah unless the ban is lifted.
The news portal reported that a letter of demand (LoD) was issued to Mahadi on the matter, which highlighted that legal action would be initiated, should no response be received from him within the stipulated time period.
The letter reportedly said that Crackhouse Comedy Club owners were not officially notified about the revocation of the club’s licence and the blacklisting, adding that they had never been found guilty of any offence that justified the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) decision.
The firm also reportedly said that the owners’ right to livelihood as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution would be “seriously affected”, and labelled DBKL’s move as “unreasonable” and “irrational”.
National news agency Bernama yesterday reported Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias as saying that DBKL had blacklisted the owners of the Crackhouse Comedy Club for life, for violating the terms of its licence.
Jalaluddin said the club’s business was revoked effective July 30 and the names of the club’s owners were blacklisted for life.
He said the individuals concerned can also no longer obtain a business licence in Kuala Lumpur, even if they were to use a different company name or attempt to run a different business.
On July 10, Jalaluddin was reported to have said that the premises was operating without the correct licence because it only had a restaurant licence and not an entertainment one.
DBKL had first temporarily suspended the operations of the comedy club, following a viral video clip said to be insulting to Islam.
A woman, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, and her boyfriend, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, have since been charged.
