KUALA LUMPUR – Crackhouse Comedy Club was not permanently barred from registering business licences for any premises in the Federal Territories as claimed by the then Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias in August last year.
Speaking to Scoop, co-owner Shankar R. Santhiram said they were told on Tuesday by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) that they were free to reapply their business licence anytime.
“DBKL has written to us and said they had never issued a letter stating that we would be barred from reapplying for a business licence anywhere in the Federal Territories.
“Although the revocation of Crackhouse Comedy Club licence stands, we are free to reapply for the appropriate licences. We also do not need to use another person’s or business name to do so.”
The comedy club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail here came under fire last year following a viral video of a woman insulting Islam during an open mic comedy skit on June 4.
The incident led them to lodge a police report at the TTDI police station against 26-year-old Siti Nuramira Abdullah and immediately barred her and her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, from the venue.
Because of her performance that saw her removing some clothing before going on to insult the religion, DBKL sealed the venue and subsequently revoked the club’s operating licence.
Shankar’s business partner, Mohamad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel was also investigated following several police reports lodged nationwide against him for allegedly insulting Islam.
Rizal pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here to three charges of allegedly inciting racial tensions through online postings.
When asked if they plan to reapply for their business licence soon, Shankar said: “I will only discuss it with my partner when he returns as he is currently away for a month.”
Nuramirah was eventually charged with causing disharmony and feelings of ill-will on grounds of religion under the Penal Code, while her partner was charged with improper use of network facilities under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1993 for recording her performance and uploading it online. – August 4, 2023