Ex-Malaysian PM’s Wife Rosmah Sues Comedian Over Comedy Show

Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander over a stand-up comedy routine that she claims mocked and insulted her.

The lawsuit was filed at the High Court on June 9. According to Rosmah's statement of claim, the alleged defamation occurred during Iskander's performance, titled 'Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour,' in Melaka on January 17. Rosmah contends that Iskander intentionally defamed her by displaying images of terrifying mythological creatures from Malaysian folklore, such as the 'toyol,' 'pontianak,' and 'pocong,' before showing her image as part of a joke.

Rosmah further alleged that Iskander's joke about drivers seeing a terrifying figure in their rearview mirror, followed by the display of her image, was a deliberate attempt to portray her as frightening, damage her reputation, and subject her to public ridicule and body shaming. She is seeking an unconditional apology and unspecified damages.

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During the performance, the defendant displayed images of scary mythological creatures from Malaysian folklore, including but not limited to the ‘toyol’, ‘pontianak’, and ‘pocong’, before subsequently displaying the plaintiff’s image to the audience as part of the joke’s narrative.

In his defense, Harith Iskander Musa denied that his performance was malicious or defamatory. He argued that the routine should be understood within the full context of a comedy show and that the lawsuit heavily relies on two short video clips uploaded to TikTok, which do not represent his entire 90-minute performance. Iskander stated he does not know the TikTok account owner and that the unauthorized recording violated house rules.

Iskander's legal team emphasized that Rosmah's image was displayed for a mere split second, less than five seconds of the entire show, and was not the main focus. They also noted that house rules and disclaimers were broadcast in both Bahasa Malaysia and English before the show commenced, which they intend to use in their defense.

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The display was momentary, as it was not the main theme or focus of the defendant’s show. It was not recurring and cannot be separated from the entire context of the comedy show.