Ex-Malaysian PM's wife Rosmah sues comedian Harith Iskander over 'pontianak' joke in stand-up routine

Former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor has filed a defamation suit against a comedian over his stand-up routine that allegedly compared her to ghosts, such as the pontianak and pocong.

Rosmah had reportedly filed the lawsuit at the Malaysian High Court on June 9. 

Rosmah, 75, claimed that Harith Iskander, while performing his stand-up comedy show Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour in Malacca on Jan 17, had displayed images of a toyol, a pontianak, and a pocong before showing a photograph of her, reported The New Straits Times.

She claimed that the 59-year-old had intentionally defamed her through the use of such visuals, comparing her to the "scariest" figures of Malaysian folklore and subjecting her to public ridicule.

"During the performance, the defendant had displayed images of scary mythological creatures in the Malaysian community, including but not limited to 'toyol', 'pontianak' and 'pocong', and subsequently displayed the plaintiff’s image to the audience as part of the narrative in the joke by the defendant," the statement was quoted by The Star as saying.

In Malaysian folklore, the toyol is an undead baby spirit, while the pontianak is a vengeful spirit and the pocong is a ghost that resembles a dead body wrapped in a shroud.

She further argued that the defamatory statements were made to intentionally hurt her reputation, name, dignity, and social standing through insults regarding her appearance.

Additionally, Rosmah said that Harith had implied that she was frightening, evil, inhuman, unworthy of respect and fit to be mocked and feared by the public, according to New Straits Times.

Rosmah is reportedly seeking general, exemplary and aggravated damages, exemplary damages, costs and any other relief deemed fit by the court.

She is also seeking an injunction to stop Harith from making allegedly defamatory statements of her, and to remove all related content from his social media platforms.

Rosmah is also seeking for an unconditional apology from the comedian, including a publication of a retraction in at least two mainstream newspapers, and agreed social media accounts.

TikTok videos of the show were uploaded by third party: Harith

In response, the comedian denied that his performance was malicious or defamatory to the plaintiff.

According to the New Straits Times, Harith said in his statement of defence filed on July 9, that Rosmah's evidence for the lawsuit was based on two videos uploaded on TikTok, which did not capture the entirety of the show, which included audience interaction, delivery, timing, disclaimers and house rules.

One of the videos also reportedly garnered over 200,000 views, causing further damage to her reputation.

He claimed that the incomplete videos were uploaded by a third party without his knowledge, and said that he had no connection to the account. 

Additionally, the comedian said that he had communicated a set of house rules and disclaimers before his performance, adding that he had explicitly told the audience not to record and distribute any videos from the performance.

The comedian also said that Rosmah's image was only displayed for "a split second", lasting less than five seconds in the entirety of his 90-minute set.

"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," Harith was quoted by The Star to have said.

New Straits Times also said that Harith argued that the references to mythical creatures were "fictional, figurative and satirical", and that any reasonable individual would not interpret the jokes to be factual and literal statements of the plaintiff.

In addition, Harith also claimed that stand-up comedy and satire are protected forms of artistic expression under Malaysian law.

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daoen.wong@asiaone.com