'Karen' criticised online for cursing at Kuala Lumpur airport staff

Flying can be a taxing process, but it is never a good idea to take your frustration out on airport staff.

One particular tourist, however, did not seem to get the memo, as she was caught on video berating and mocking staff at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

In a 16-second video uploaded onto TikTok by ground staff Yully Lee (@missssssyl) on Wednesday (Dec 28), the woman can be seen talking rudely to the staff before slamming her hand and passport on the counter.

"This is my Norwegian passport, embassy['s] on your motherf***ing ass," she said.

She then proceeded to mock the staff member by making kissing noises, cursing the worker and demanding for the worker to give her their name.

@missssssyl

What would u do if people like this attack you for no reason?

♬ original sound - missssssyl

The video has since garnered more than 160,000 views on the social media platform, with netizens dubbing the woman as "KLIA Karen". In the caption, the user asked, "What would you do if people like this attack you for no reason?"

A Karen is a pejorative slang used to describe entitled women who are often rude to customer service staff.

According to Malaysian newspaper The Star, KLIA district police chief Imran Abd Rahman said that the woman has been fined RM100 (S$30) for her inappropriate demeanour.

"The woman had gone into the airplane and then she claimed that she had left some of her stuff and demanded to go out, but she was not allowed to do so, hence she made a scene," he elaborated.

"She was arrested and we charged her for behaving indecently and she was fined RM100."

Insulted for 15 minutes

In a series of Instagram stories posted by Lee, who was the counter staff when the incident happened, revealed that the 16-second clip only showed a small portion of the full incident.

She said that she was insulted by the same woman for at least 15 minutes on two consecutive days, December 25 and 26.

The user then pleaded for customers to be more understanding towards airport staff, saying that they "face all kinds of attitudes from passengers" daily.

"They are human too, try to put yourself in their shoes," she said. "There's always a polite way to talk and ask for assistance. If you talk to us politely, we will try our best to assist."

'It's a free country'

This is not the first time a woman has been dubbed a "Karen" for causing nuisance in Kuala Lumpur.

Back in 2021, a maskless woman was agitated after she was denied entry into a Dior store at Suria KLCC, a shopping mall located in the Malaysian capital.

In the video, she told them: "You can't stop me. It's a free country, you don't own this shop."

"My kids Malaysian, my husband Malaysian. I know everything about this country," she said.

Wearing a mask in public was mandatory by law in Malaysia in 2021, and offenders who flouted this mandate could be fined up to RM1,000 (S$304) under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act then.

That woman was subsequently fined RM3,000 (S$976), reported the New Straits Times then.

ALSO READ: 'You think I'm interested in your f****** law?' Passenger rages at SIA cabin crew for not getting him water

wongdaoen@asiaone.com

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.