Najip Ali could lose spot on Astro’s flagship programme
Mr Najip said on Wednesday that he had reflected on his inappropriate comments and apologised unreservedly to the Malaysian leader. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — According to Malaysian media reports, freelance artiste Najip Ali may be dropped from Astro Malaysia’s flagship programme, Maharaja Lawak Mega (King Of Comedy), following inappropriate remarks he made about Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on a Mediacorp Channel 5 comedy show last week.
Yesterday, Utusan Online reported the possibility of the Malaysian satellite television station dropping Mr Najip as a judge from the popular programme. When contacted by TODAY, an Astro spokesman would only say that “any updates on the status of Najip Ali in the show will be known during the live show (today), at the start of the show”.
Mr Najip, 50, and the production team behind Mediacorp Channel 5’s comedy show, OK Chope!, had issued an apology on Wednesday to the Malaysian leader. The show’s host, Ms Vernetta Lopez, and Mr Najip — a Singaporean comedian who was among those who made the offending remarks — also apologised on television in a recorded broadcast.
The episode in question included a segment about the Malaysian Prime Minister where participants — including Mr Najip — were asked to complete a sentence that read: “(PM) Najib slams ... for threatening Malaysia’s progress”.
The incident prompted Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement to say that its government “views seriously the offensive comments and insinuations made against the Malaysian leadership and hopes that such occurrence will not be repeated”. Adding that it took note of the apology, the ministry said: “Malaysia and Singapore continue to work towards elevating bilateral relations to greater heights for the mutual benefit of both countries. It is therefore imperative that this relationship is nurtured in the spirit of harmony and mutual respect.”
Mediacorp chief customer officer Debra Soon had earlier said in response to media queries that “Channel 5 and the production team behind OK Chope! wish to sincerely apologise to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for a segment on last week’s episode”.
She added: “OK Chope!, a weekly live show, features comedians providing humorous takes on news and current affairs. Last week’s episode included references to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak which were in poor taste and offensive. We have thus pulled it from repeat telecast with immediate effect. We apologise unreservedly for this mistake.”
Yesterday, in response to further media queries, Channel 5 said its production team “continues to reflect on the incident and learn from it”.
“We also hope that Najip will be given the space he needs to manage through this difficult period,” it added.
Apologising on Wednesday, Mr Najip had said that he had reflected on his comments and realised “how insensitive and callous I was”. He added: “I would like to apologise unreservedly to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. I beg his forgiveness and that of my viewers and friends.”
He reiterated yesterday that “those of us who participated in the show regret the episode and are truly sorry to those we have let down”. He added: “The show sees the funny side of current events and happenings and it was in that spirit that we made those remarks. In hindsight, our comments were in poor taste and offensive. ”
