Malaysia apologizes for posting photo of chicken in advertisement celebrating Year of the Dog
Malaysia used the image of a chicken instead of a dog, possibly to avoid offending Muslims, but they have been criticized by internet users.
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The ad features a chicken making a sound like a dog barking. Photo:Facebook. |
An advertisement by Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Protection in a Chinese-language newspaper featured a rooster making a sound like a dog barking, although it carried a message welcoming the Year of the Dog, according toAFP.
Many people ridiculed the ad, saying that the designer used the wrong image, while others said that the designer did it on purpose because dogs are considered unclean animals in Islam."It shows nothing but stupidity," commented Facebook user Tony Yeo."There's nothing wrong with using the image of a dog as an animal in the 12 zodiac signs," another person wrote.
Malaysia's ministry issued an apology today, saying a technical error had occurred. "We regret the inconvenience caused," a ministry spokesman said.
Ethnic Chinese make up about a quarter of Malaysia’s Muslim-majority population. Shops and shopping malls in Malaysia have avoided displaying images of dogs this year for fear of offending Muslims.