Not that it was a problem for the audience, which by round of applause proved to be mostly Malaysian with a smattering of Aussies.
Some jokes were universal, such as Kuah Jenhan’s routine about women’s amazing multitasking abilities. But most of the material was tightly tailored to the crowd, ranging from stereotypes of Chinese people to Berseh rallies and how in Malaysia you can cross the street anywhere you like and cars will just drive around you.
Ronny Chieng opened the show by ad-libbing about the broken microphone: “That’s so typically Malaysian. Who do I have to pay to get this to work?”
The rapid-fire delivery made it a challenge to keep up at times but the comics graciously explained things to the non-Malaysians in the audience. Douglas Lim taught us the Malay word for pig – babi – before launching into a song about his friend who married a Muslim woman and could no longer eat pork. “Babi, babi, babi oh,” he crooned along to a Justin Bieber karaoke track, “your taste is just so divine.”
Headline act Harith Iskander told a story about official forms that asked him to choose a race from “Malay, Chinese, Indian or other”. He joked that because of his and his wife’s heritage, their child would grow up to tick all the boxes. He paused, and said he hoped his child would grow up to find only one option: Malaysian. To me, it just seemed like a nice sentiment, but the audience’s roar of approval showed it resonated deeper.
These are four comics at the top of their game. They come recommended no matter where you’re from.
