Some things about Malaysian life are
downright funny or ridiculous and beg to be made fun of. That is precisely what
That Effing Show' does.
SHAHANAAZ HABIB
IF you are easily offended or
confused, you probably shouldn't watch That Effing Show. After all, the
five-minute online comedy show that comes out once a week is meant for an
“immature audience only”. Or at least that is what it says in the disclaimer at
the start of every show. Taking a leaf out of funny American television shows
hosted by Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Jerry Springer and David Letterman (as
there is no Malaysian equivalent here), “jokers” Ezra Mohd Zaid, Umapagan
Ampikaipakan and their gang wanted to give Malaysians a dose of satire
ala-Malaysia. That was how That Effing Show was born. It's been more than
two-and-a half years and the show now has a loyal following that includes
popular singers Yuna and Zee Avi who have wanted to be guest on it.
Just for laughs: Umapagan believes
that comedy should push racial stereotypes to the extreme so that people know
that it is joke and all races feel comfortable laughing at it.
The idea behind the name of the show,
Ezra explains, is a play on censorship and “any word that people, society, or
the government-in-power are not comfortable with that eats away at all things
we can do, say or think.” He also says that for the longest time, there has
been a vacuum in comedy in Malaysia when the “political and social atmosphere”
was tense.
Ready to laugh
“Malaysians are now really learning
the art of laughing at themselves. We have been so sheltered all this while and
thinking can we say this or can we say that?' So let's talk, let's laugh, let's
be silly. Malaysians are ready to laugh at the stuff we were not supposed to
laugh at. We can't be angry all the time,” he adds. That Effing Show makes fun
of so-called “facts”, hypocrisy, the idiosyncrasies of the different races, the
people, politicians and the goings-on in the country. “We are trying to master
the art of trying to be funny but at the same time, we want it to be somewhat
informative of the climate of this country the political temperature, the
social vibes and the people's take about living in this society,” says Ezra.
Umapagan admits that the show is
“tersirat, layered, subtexted” because “that is the way we feel we can get away
with it”. When the show started, he says, they tried to figure out who they can
or can't make fun of and decided it was hands-off for the royalty, and Islam
because it might get them in trouble. “We'd skirt around it a bit but not
really get into it.” But after the 10th episode, Ezra says they threw out the
rule book. “Things are so ridiculous in this country that it is disingenuous
not to mention some of these issues,” he adds, referring to reports on
Indonesian model Manohara and the Kelantan prince, Malaysian businessman Jho
Low and celebrity Paris Hilton, Muslims not allowed to celebrate Valentine's
Day and the “no-panties” day.
Open to humour: Ezra says after the
longest time, Malaysians are only now starting to really laugh at themselves.
“When things like that happen, you
can't not make fun of it,” quips Ezra. When uztazah Siti Nor Bahyah Mahmood
went on national TV to say Valentine's Day was forbidden for Muslims, Umapagan
says That Effing Show did its research and debunked all that she said. That
show turned out to be a big hit. “Our show gets hits for wow that is good' and
you guys are going to burn in hell',” he says good humouredly.
Their shows on politics are popular
too. “We get a big reaction with politics and religion. Malaysians really get
worked up over these things. And we get really turned on by that,” he laughs. Umapagan
says That Effing Show team are “equal opportunity bashers” - they bash whatever
is funny, be it from the Government or opposition. “Everyone in this country
gives us enough material and enough stupidity. No one is above it,” he says. Ezra,
whose father is politician and former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, says
they also make fun of his dad on the show. “My dad gets' what we do and finds
some bits funny. But there is a generation gap in the comedy thing; I don't
think he understands totally but he is supportive of the show and thinks it's
something that should have been done a long time ago,” he shares.
Umapagan and Ezra also claim they get
a kick out of what Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri
Rais Yatim says and joke that they should give him a writing credit as he
provides “so much material” for the show. And they would absolutely love to
have the colourful and controversial Perkasa chief and Pasir Mas MP Datuk
Ibrahim Ali on their show because he is usually in “top form”. The team thinks
nothing of poking fun at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik
Mat, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Khairy Jamaluddin, among others. “If you
are a public figure, it is not meant to be a rosy ride where there is no
scrutiny of your actions. Khairy understands that we are doing this for laughs.
“If a five-minute show pokes fun at you, you should be able to handle it. If
you can't, then you shouldn't be doing what you are doing,” says Ezra.
He regards the stuff said in
parliament as “gold”. One recent episode was on Sri Gading MP Mohamad Aziz “questioning”
in parliament if Datuk S. Ambiga should be hanged for organising the Bersih 3.0
protest. He had likened it to treason and compared it to terrorist organisation
Al'Maunah's raid of an army reserve camp in July 2000 where they seized a huge
cache of weapons because they wanted to overthrow the Government. “These are
elected representatives who are supposed to craft legislation, yet say such
irresponsible and ridiculous things. You are asking to be made fun of and we
can do that. “We always use people's own words against themselves. If a
politician says something stupid, we make fun of the direct quote. So they do
it (make themselves look stupid) all by themselves.” Ezra points out that using
the people's own quotes protects the show against defamation. “We take all of
these things into consideration” he says.
No anger involved
They also make it a point not to be
angry when they write a show. “If we write a show (while) angry, it ends up
being a rant and people won't find it funny.” Because Malaysians tend to get
emotional over many things, That Effing Show likes making fun of people's
reactions too. Umapagan says they received a lot of flak for their show on
Bersih 2.0 last year because they made fun of the people. “We had people saying
I went man, I am patriotic, I am awesome.' You didn't go? You are a loser. You
don't love this country.' “We were making fun of the extreme reactions people
had. That if they got tear-gassed, it made them better Malaysians than you and
I,” he says.
But that got people accusing them of
being pro-government. “It's difficult for people to comprehend that we abide by
that which is funny and not partisanship,” Ezra explains. “People ask, Why
didn't you do a show about police brutality?' But cops beating up people is not
funny. We are a comedy show.” Both Ezra and Umapagan stress that they are not
activists and certainly not martyrs. “Some come to us and say Keep up the good fight'
as if suggesting we are fighting for them. We are not. We are everyday jokers
fighting for the biggest laugh and for the best-scratching-your-head moments,”
says Ezra. Umapagan says they would love to have competition and hoped more
people would also shoot their own videos and start doing their own parodies of
Malaysia.
All it takes, he says, is a couch, a
microphone, a crappy camera and some software. “If others do it better than us,
it will make us up the game. And it also adds a layer of security because they
can't catch us all. The more, the merrier,” he says. That Effing Show cast is
small, multiracial and in their 20s and 30s. All six members, including Ezra
and Umapagan, have become good buddies. They record on Saturdays and shooting
for a five-minute show can take them hours. They only stop recording when they
themselves find the video funny. “We play with stereotypes. We push it to the
extreme that it is unbelievable so you can laugh at it whether you are Chinese,
Indian or Malay without feeling bad. “With comedy, you don't want to feel like
a bigot when you laugh. That is something we are very conscious about,” says
Umapagan.
Ezra says they read the comments
viewers post of their show because they are curious as to why people like it or
don't. It also gives them a temperature of people's state of mind and
perspective. “Those who don't like it have said mean things about me and the
cast but we don't take it personally because it is part and parcel of what we
do. We throw as good as we take. “For all the crazy things that happen in this
country, if you laugh for five minutes, okaylah,” he quips.
(That Effing Show can be seen on
YouTube and popteevee.net)
