MALAYSIANSKINI | Comedian/musician Allan Perera is set to hit the stage this week with what he calls a one-man comedy riot. Now best known for his parody songs such as ‘Malaysia’s Got No Shame’, which parodied ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak’s “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign, his set will take fans back through 40 years of his career as an entertainer.

“It’s been a long and wonderful journey. I think back to starting as a live musician and then going through production, jingles, television and a spell as a music director before taking a whole different direction with theatre and humour.

“I think I always had the humour element on a personal level, but I had the mental block at first. I used to think to myself - I’m a musician, not an actor,” he told Malaysiakini.

Indeed, Perera has performed with a number of jazz fusion/world music bands like Faith Symphony, AsiaBeat, Falcons, Forever Band, Pieces, Made in Malaysia, and CreAsian. He also joined Instant Cafe Theater in the 1990s before branching out as part of the Comedy Court duo with Indy Nadarajah.

“I started off wanting to be a lawyer but got into a band when I was 16 and the band did well, which somehow impressed my father, so he backed me up. I didn’t plan for this but it went that way. I am very glad. I also got the chance to act as a lawyer!

“I had a great time creating characters and seeing the audience react. By 1997, I formed a duo with Indy and we have wonderful memories. The Comedy Court had an energy of its own and we started selling big shows.

“For the 2008 election, I started putting our material on YouTube as Indy was not well and we got tremendous exposure. I have ‘covered’ every election since,” he said with a laugh.

Video turned him into a parody star

Eventually, he turned his hand to parody songs that went viral such as ‘Bersih 2.0 Yellow T-Shirt Ban’, ‘Obedient Wives Club’, ‘Why MCA’, ‘The Lompat Song’, and many others. His onstage personas also include such characters as Rukumani Jones, Elvis Tan, Basha Abdul Malik and Debit Terimakasihgam allowing him to show his range as an entertainer.

“I’ve been running a lot of parodies on my YouTube channel. I’m very fast to get on the ideas at a time when it’s topical. I have the facilities in my home to do my production. If I read something in the morning, and get the idea immediately, I can bring my team in and get it out by 7am next day.

“It goes viral, all over the world in fact,” said Perera.

Talking about a parody he did of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the Nat King Cole chestnut Unforgettable, Perera said:

“I make it the way I like it. This is not like the old days when we were subject to so much censorship. Now I have the freedom of YouTube. The crowd knows me well and understands the satire.

“At the same time, I write it very carefully because I don’t want to insult or provoke anyone. The person should be able to smile and laugh. It does happen often that politicians and prime ministers who are the target of the humour, can still sit in the audience and laugh.”

Some have been critical of the Bangladeshi character Basha who seemed to be the butt of xenophobic jokes but Perera said that was not the idea at all.

“I wanted to highlight to everybody, how important migrant workers have become to Malaysia. They have battled difficult circumstances to become powerful. They are in our restaurants, hotels, guarding our condos, building our highways, because they are doing the jobs Malaysians don’t want to do.

“In some ways, we surrendered it to them. Far from being just a figure of fun, they have their own aspirations and they are getting a foothold here. My character, through satire, is telling the audience how the future will be.

“He dreamt of making Malaysia his first home. Suddenly Covid-19 comes and he has to go back to Bangladesh but his dream is to come back here where life is good. Even my Punjabi character is because of Mat Kilau, to counter them and show his braveness.

“I don’t go vulgar, don’t use bad language, so that people will not take offence,” said Perera who described himself as a PJ boy of Singhalese descent.

We have to laugh at ourselves

He said that Malaysians really need laughter as a coping mechanism.

“We need humour in society. We need to laugh because there is anger and frustration. And to be able to laugh is a release. Social satire and political satire are good outlets. I decided to do this because  Malaysians are really funny. I want to do a laughter movement, in fact,” added Perera, who also donates some of his proceeds to deserving charities.

He said that while he appreciates the work of other comedians, what he does is not really comparable to the likes of Douglas Lim and Jason Leong.

“None of them are the same as me, because I don’t do stand up. I do characters and satirical songs.

Asked whether his family was shocked to see him dressed up as female characters, he laughed. “In fact, my family found it very amusing. I always argue that my character is a typical feminist,” said Perera.

He said it has been tough for the entertainment industry in general and hopes we will turn the corner soon.

“The pandemic came along and the entertainment industry was destroyed. It was really difficult for a lot of us. I think it is slowly coming back but we need support.

“Even our politics – I never can recall such a turbulent time as that. The changing of government and a deadly disease. I didn’t write new material during that time because there was nothing funny.

“I think we are making a comeback now,” he said.

Recording music for ISA victims

One of his most interesting projects back in the day was ‘Made in Malaysia’ which also included the likes of the late guitarist Paul Ponnudurai and drummer Jerry Felix.

“These were great musicians, but unfortunately not much was captured on record,” he muses.

“Paul did this solo thing which was just his finger-picking on guitar and voice. He was a child prodigy who was very good with any form of music. Actually, our band did one album called Suara. It was about human rights and sales were given to ISA victims who were detained during Mahathir’s Ops Lalang.

“I always was in touch with politics and I enjoyed talking to a lot of people, especially older people. I became interested,” he recalled.

Perera said that the band was approached by a group of people who asked to do something for the families of the ISA detainees who were struggling with money after their breadwinners were detained.

“They approached us and said, ‘Please speak for us, be a voice, so we produced it on our own and the money went to them. In fact, years later, the Suara album was presented to Nelson Mandela,” he said.

A range of influences

Perera says that while he is known as a stage performer, he’s really not very lively offstage.

“Actually I’m a very quiet and private person. I read a lot, basically, the genre could be called Christian. I spend my time doing that. Practising music. I go to one or two places for dinner. I have no favourite jokes. When I am in a group, I’m the most boring person!” he said.

“I admire George Carlin, the old show ‘Yes Minister’. I like jokes that are intelligent. When you go back you will rethink and laugh. I met a group of guys who can quote our lines back to me and that really impressed me. I don’t go for below-the-belt humour and I want to do something that will make you think,” he said.

Despite raking up 40 years, he is looking forward to the future.

“I think the change of government and the fact that we are going to a unity government, is positive. I see old enemies asking for forgiveness. It’s time to unite and mend fences.

“We have a leader now in Anwar Ibrahim who has gone through trials and tribulations, and hopefully that gives him patience. I think we should be optimistic for the next five years,” he said.

“As for myself, I will continue to comment. Of course, I will grow older. I think I want to get back in the studio. And start doing series of topics that are documented well. As you get older, live performances are tiring and the studio is more comfortable.

“I’d also like to go back to music. Not the parody style but play all kind of genres,” he added.

He said that he might even go on a world tour.

“This anniversary show, I might take it to Penang and Johor. Most important is to get started. I am even thinking of a world tour.

“Australians are waiting for us to come, UK and US. We want to get out there and meet people who appreciate the humour in our act,” said Perera.

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