Kumar contributed to the rebuilding of the new Yellow House through ticket sales from his show (All photos: Patrick Goh/The Edge)
For more than 30 years, Singapore’s most iconic comedian Kumar has wielded the mic like a scalpel, slicing through taboos with a wink, a whip and an uncanny ability to make even the most prudish cackle. But there is one thing this stand-up veteran will never joke about on stage: charity.
“Helping the less fortunate is a serious matter, especially when choosing which organisation to support. In Singapore, the big ones are already very rich. Companies donate just to get tax relief, and giving money to some churches feels like a waste because you don’t know where it actually goes. I prefer NGOs [non-governmental organisations] that feel more personal, with which I can connect emotionally, like Beyond Social Services, a community agency that helps single mothers and children break out of the poverty cycle. Charity isn’t about showing off how much you can hand out — that kind of publicity is cheap,” he remarks with a pointed edge, as if addressing societies that have grown Dickensian, where the rich grow richer and the poor are priced out of their own lives.
This instinct for intimacy guided him across the Causeway to Pertubuhan Kebajikan Masyarakat Yellow House in Kampung Ampang Campuran, Selangor, an NGO founded in 2011 by Shyam Priah Marimuthu to support refugees, the homeless and urban poor. When the shelter — a 40-year-old, single-storey detached house plagued by a leaky roof and broken ceiling — needed repairs, YTL Foundation lent its support to the renovation, which cost RM275,000 and took 18 months. The charitable arm of YTL Group partially funded RM50,000; Yellow House covered another RM50,000, and the balance was raised through corporate sponsors and individual donors. Sustainable materials such as bamboo and recycled plastics were used to refurbish the structure built by Shyam’s father and grandfather, which now features a main living hall, a small courtyard and two rooms.
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“My parents originally planned to buy just the house next door but the owner of this unit [where Yellow House stands] was ill and needed money for medical treatment, so he asked them to take it too. They agreed, even though they could only afford one, and ended up selling vadai to pay for everything,” recalls Shyam.
Kumar also contributed to the rebuilding of the new Yellow House, raising RM5,000 from ticket sales and live donations during his Kumarsutra: Greatest Hits tour in 2023, which drew more than 11,000 fans over two nights in Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur. “Sutra means stories, so don’t be dirty-minded,” he quips.
Yet beyond the numbers and curtain calls, the funnyman’s greatest gift lies in using laughter to uplift. “People who’ve had a stroke came to watch me. Those going through a divorce just want an escape. You don’t know what people are going through — they come to forget their sadness, even just for a while,” he says. “And I’ll do anything for dogs too. I have a friend who volunteers at a shelter in Johor Bahru but she told me not to come because I’m too emotional. If I see their state — all 200 dogs crammed into a place — I will cry,” says the owner of four canines.
Still, giving back in Singapore, he notes, is not always straightforward. In a city state where efficiency prevails but feels impersonal, generosity is frequently hemmed in by bureaucracy. “To reach an NGO founder, you have to go through assistant after assistant. By the time you meet the person in charge, you’re already exhausted. In fact, I even offered to counsel ex-convicts and drug addicts, but they told me I couldn’t because I’m not ‘qualified’. That’s why I don’t volunteer in Singapore as much — the rules make it so hard you just give up.”
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That same sense of restraint sometimes extends to the stage. In Malaysia, audiences tend to arrive ready to laugh, while in Singapore, they often sit back and expect to be impressed. The difference, he believes, also stems from censorship and cultural sensibilities.
“Singapore is a bit harder because there are a lot of things you cannot say, although I’ll mention names now. But recently, even Malaysia is becoming like that. I can get away with it behind closed doors, but I’m very careful in public. [My content] is very relatable; I do a lot of observational comedy and current affairs, including [US President] Donald Trump. Well, he’s a sh*t-stirrer, and he should really just shut up. Someone should lock him up and throw away the key.
“Also, unlike other [younger] comedians, I can talk about ‘last time’, like cassettes. Now, it’s Spotify. I can compare the style of communication — or lack thereof — between older parents and their children.”
On that topic, Kumar has some advice: “You need to communicate, because that’s the only way your kids will stop lying to you. With AI [artificial intelligence] and the amount of time they spend on their phones, they’re losing respect for their parents. Everything is an entitlement; not a privilege. You can’t scold them, and they’re all hungry for money. But I’ve realised that my friends’ kids confide in me instead — because I listen. No matter what, talk it out. Young people, say hello to your parents and acknowledge your grandparents. They’re not part of the furniture. Don’t ignore them.”
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Perhaps that insight comes from a place of experience. Despite the crowds that pack his sold-out shows, Kumar confesses he often feels lonely. At home, his companions are his dogs, the TV and a helper.
“Loneliness is a huge problem. Many are going through it but they don’t know how to face it. You have to accept it first — don’t just sweep it under the rug. Then, you find ways to keep busy: cook, watch a TV series (he recommends Adolescence) or take care of a pet. But you have to face it.”
That quiet truth — that even in a city brimming with people, one can feel unseen — is precisely what Yellow House was built to confront, supporting nearly 36,000 who have slipped through society’s cracks: the unhoused, wandering and lonely. Although it continues its role as a food-aid distribution hub (with the homeless redirected to transit centres) as well as a learning ground for 1,000 international volunteers from more than 40 countries, Shyam has introduced a new initiative called “Farm School” on a 1.5ha plot nearby, where the marginalised can upskill themselves via agroeconomics. Further plans include hosting a weekly farmers’ market on-site, so fresh produce can be sold directly without intermediaries. It is a circular system that ensures artisans, refugees and indigenous groups can earn a living and feed themselves too.
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“My mum was a teacher at a technical school and my father was a safety engineer with the Air Force. Charity has always been in my family. When someone comes hungry to the gate, my father would invite them in, have them sit down and eat. He’d ask about their story and try to solve their problems. And I grew up watching and learning from that,” says Shyam.
For both Kumar, who was brought up in the quarters before moving to a government flat, and the Yellow House, their message aligns: whether through a meal, a job or a punchline, what matters most is letting people know they are not invisible. In the gentle warmth of a shelter or under the bright spotlight of a comedy stage, comfort finds those the world so often overlooks.
“Say ‘I love you’ more. It’s not that hard,” Kumar urges, offering a final bit of wisdom. “I know I’m trying to win brownie points to go ‘up’, but really, just be nice to others.”
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This article first appeared on July 14, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
