Comedian and actor, Ronny Chieng, who was born in Malaysia, recently renounced his Malaysian citizenship and became a citizen of the United States of America.
The comedian who hailed from Johor Bahru spoke about it during The Daily Show, where American actor, Bill Murray congratulated him on becoming a US citizen.
Ronny had to renounce his Malaysian citizenship because while the US allows dual citizenship, Malaysia does not. Ronny’s love for America, however, has never been a secret. Since the news of his newly obtained US citizenship, an old video of him explaining why he loves America resurfaced and started circulating on social media again.
“I love being in America because this is the country that puts show business above everything”
In his Netflix special Love to Hate It, which was released in December last year, Ronny had a lot to share about himself, including why he loved America. During his sharing, he also compared free speech in America to his homeland, Malaysia.
In a joking manner, Ronny raised his middle finger and said,
“I do this in America, f*** the US President, f*** the US tax, and money still come into my pocket.”
Ronny, however, couldn’t say the same about Malaysia, where things would take an ugly turn if he were as straightforward with his words as he was in America.
“I do this in Malaysia, same words, same clothing, same haircut, facing the same direction, it means jail.”
“It’s like the arbitrage value is out of control. The same product in different locations. Obviously, I’m going to do it here. Why the f*** would I do this anywhere else? It’s the best.”
Ronny’s comparison had the audience burst out in laughter.
Many Malaysian netizens understood where Ronny was coming from with his speech, and were impressed with how he could deliver the facts about the comparisons.
You can watch a snippet of Love to Hate It here.
What do you think of Ronny renouncing his Malaysian citizenship and comparing Malaysia to the US?
