Prasarana Malaysia Berhad has removed a personal care products advertisement, which includes deodorant, lip balm and sunscreen, from their Ampang and Sri Petaling LRT lines following feedback from the public in regards to racial sensitivity issues.
Taking to their Facebook page, they shared, “The advertisement visual has gone through the appropriate process, including internal and external reviews, covering aspects such as racial, religious and social sensitivity, before the visual was printed and displayed. However, the clan visual has been removed from the Ampang/Sri Petaling Line service after receiving feedback from users.”
This comes after social activist, Arun Dorasamy, called out the advertisement for being racially and religiously insensitive.
“Is it just me or does this advertisement reflect clear racial and religious discrimination? In the past, people used skin colour to stereotype and marginalise. Now, it seems they’ve moved on to using religious symbols, like the holy ash or mark on the forehead, to do the same,”
“Are we supposed to ignore this subtle yet dangerous messaging? This appears to target and stigmatise a Hindu individual based on their religious identity. Such representation is unacceptable in a multicultural, multi-faith society like Malaysia,” he said.
The brand, HYGR, has since spoken up
Taking to its Instagram account, they shared that the advertisement was not meant to be offensive but instead, inclusive of Malaysians from different races.
“The ad was originally designed to showcase how our products, like deodorant, sunscreen and lip balm, can be useful in everyday Malaysian life. The visual featured characters of various age, gender and races to reflect our country’s multicultural diversity,”
“We recently realised that the designs we created might have not reflected as such to our audience and we are very appreciative of the people that have raised their concerns,” they wrote.
HYGR went on to explain that the scene in question was merely meant to emphasise the importance of deodorant in hot, crowded places.
“The character shown with visible green mist was meant to depict body odor, and was never intended to represent any specific community. The placement of the characters around him was purely coincidental, and we now realise how it could have been interpreted,”
“We acknowledge that we could have been more thoughtful in our execution. It was our oversight and we understand why it caused discomfort and concern. We will reflect on this and do our best to improve, thanks to the feedback provided to us. We hear you and we are deeply sorry. You have every right to feel the way you do, and we fully respect that,” they added.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
