May 23 hearing of leave bid to quash comedy club's blacklist

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has set May 23 to hear a judicial review leave application by the two owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club to overturn the permanent ban against them from registering any business in the capital.

The comedy club owners’ counsel Harshaan Zamani today confirmed the hearing date involving the legal challenge that also seeks to reinstate the club’s business license, following a controversial stand-up routine at the club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, last year.

“The hearing is on May 23 at 9am, before Yang Arif (judge Amarjeet Singh) via e-hearing (paperless) with the attendance of parties at court,” the lawyer told Malaysiakini after case management of the matter earlier this morning.

Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly@Arwi, who represented the government that happens to be one of the four respondents in the matter, also confirmed the hearing date when contacted today.

In the event that the court grants leave, it would later set a separate hearing date to hear submissions from parties’ legal teams over the merits of the judicial review.

In November last year, Crackhouse Comedy Club owners Mohamad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar R Santhiram had gone to the civil court over Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) permanent ban against them.

The woman who was alleged to be behind the stand-up routine, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, and her boyfriend, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, are currently facing ongoing criminal court cases involving the performance.

Permanently blacklisted

On Aug 18 last year, Rizal and Shankar sent a letter of demand to Kuala Lumpur Mayor Mahadi Che Ngah over media reports on the club’s licence being revoked, in addition to the owners being placed on a permanent blacklist.

Berita Harian had reported the then deputy federal territories minister Jalaluddin Alias as saying that Rizal was permanently blacklisted and the DBKL’s licensing committee had decided to revoke the comedy club’s licence, effective July 30 last year (both actions are herewith known as “the decisions”).

According to a copy of the judicial review filed on Nov 27 and sighted by Malaysiakini, the comedy club owners named DBKL, Mahadi, Jalaluddin, the then Federal Territories Ministry (it has since been absorbed into the Prime Minister’s Department), and the government as the first, second, third, fourth and fifth respondents.

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 is also seeking exemplary and aggravated damages from the five respondents.

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