Comedians see funny side of ‘gutter politics’
PETALING JAYA: As the rising political temperature in the country continues to fuel hatred and anger, a group of artistes are offering humour as the antidote.
Using the old adage “laughter is the best medicine”, they have produced a series of black comedy clips to make Malaysians see the funny side of the country’s politics and politicians.
Actor-cum-comedian Afdlin Shauki said the group had already uploaded several videos on Youtube.
He said the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 which ended in violence had prompted his friends to create the clips to urge the public “to chill and laugh it off”.
“We were all shocked to see such hatred, anger and violence portrayed during the Bersih rally.
“Such behaviour has never been part of our culture. We created these videos to let Malaysians look at things from the funny side,” he said yesterday.
All the clips were uploaded under the title Bangkang Dari Longkang (Opposing from the Gutter).
The clips include Special Offer which pokes fun at the mush-rooming of massage parlours in Selangor and Bila Pilihanraya which shows the ‘Prime Minister’ throwing darts to decide on the date of elections.
The Dulu Lain Sekarang Lain clip takes a swipe at government servants who appear efficient only when their superiors are around while Demo Anti Demo makes fun of protests held to oppose other demonstrations.
Denying claims by certain quarters that the videos were sponsored by Umno, Afdlin said the fact that they ridiculed both sides of the political divide was proof of their impartiality.
“We just want to help ease the growing tension and laughter is the best option,’’ he said.
He said the group would release more of such clips soon.
“We are producing more because the response so far has been overwhelming,” he added.