Comedy club owners obtain leave to quash business blacklist

The two owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club obtained court leave to proceed with their legal challenge against a blacklist against them registering any business in Kuala Lumpur and to reinstate the club’s business licence.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur this morning granted leave for Mohamad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar R Santhiram to commence their judicial review over the blacklist that came on the heels of a controversial stand-up routine at the club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, in the middle of last year.

When contacted, the two applicants’ counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo confirmed the leave granted during chamber proceedings before judge Amarjeet Singh.

Siti Nuramira Abdullah, the woman who performed the controversial stand-up routine at the club on June 4 last year, has since been fined RM8,000 over the incident.

With the civil court having granted leave today, it would later set a separate date to hear oral submissions from opposing parties over the merits of the judicial review. The judicial review is set for further case management on June 6.

On Aug 18 last year, Rizal and Shankar sent a legal letter to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) over media reports on the club’s licence being revoked, in addition to the owners being placed on a permanent blacklist.

According to a copy of the judicial review filed on Nov 27 at the civil court last year, the comedy club owners named DBKL and its mayor as the first and second respondents.

‘Illegal, unreasonable, irrational’

Rizal and Shankar are seeking several court declarations, including that DBKL’s decision to terminate Crackhouse Comedy Club’s business licence and to bar the duo from ever registering any further business in Kuala Lumpur is “illegal, unreasonable, irrational, invalid, unconstitutional, and of no effect”.

The duo are also seeking exemplary and aggravated damages.

Incidentally, following the furore over the standup routine last year, Rizal had also been hauled to the criminal court where he claimed trial to charges made against him for creating and initiating the distribution of videos that touch on racial sensitivity on social media. - Mkini