A Hari Raya greeting advertisement by an Australia-based company offering serviced offices in the region, Servcorp, has been ordered to be taken down by DBKL because people were mistaking the wombat mascot for a pig.
The digital billboard which is displayed in Bukit Bintang showed a wombat wearing a traditional baju Melayu and songkok while wishing people “Selamat Hari Raya“. However, the public had misperceptions about the ad, thinking that it was a pig that was displayed.
The ad was accused of being disrespectful to Muslims and it has also gone viral on social media. The wombat, named Sidney, is the official mascot of Servcorp and it even has its own Facebook page as well as a website.
How unfortunate!
[UPDATE – 4.30pm]
Servcorp has taken down the Hari Raya greeting and issued a public apology to the Malaysian public. Here’s the full statement: