Penang removes playground structures with pig-like designs

[zeroo]

GEORGE TOWN • Several playthings that resembled a pig were removed from the Esplanade hours after photos of the structures went viral in cyberspace.

Penang Island City Council (MBPP) immediately replaced the spring-operated ride with a pig design with those of birds at the outdoor playground last Saturday.

Penang Muslim non-governmental organisations coalition secretary Ahmad Yakqub Nazri said he was shocked when he saw the structures that resembled a pig.

"Those who installed such items are clearly insensitive to the Muslims in the state," he said.

MBPP secretary Ang Aing Thye said that the officer-in-charge of the project had been told to submit a report.

"We are investigating the matter. Action will be taken against those at fault," he said.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-...ns#xtor=CS1-10

 

[Agoraphobic]

Wow, didn't know they were so anti-porcine! What about kid's piggy-bank? Can or not?

Cheers!

 

[harimau]

So this show is banned in Malaysia?

 

[Devil Within]

Penang Muslim non-governmental organisations coalition secretary Ahmad Yakqub Nazri said he was shocked when he saw the structures that resembled a pig.

"Those who installed such items are clearly insensitive to the Muslims in the state," he said.

Fucking idiot Muslim! He is not sensitive to non-Muslims by banning pig like structure in play ground for non-muslims!

 

[Devil Within]

Three things you (probably) don't know about islam
[video=youtube;fgsrnmzxEUY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgsrnmzxEUY&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[Vansimi]

jialats like that also can. waste public money

 

[Hans168]

soon there will be halah n non halah trolleys
how I wish they will hv that too for taxi n buses..............

 

[Devil Within]

Fuck Sharia!

[video=youtube;K7mGqj-BTII]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7mGqj-BTII[/video]

 

[eErotica69]

This is what happens what fucktard Tonychat and his ball-less jiu hu parents continue to support the 46.75% majority UMNO Government!! Fuck you all dead ball-ess matlanders. Tonychat, continue to bend down and get screwed by Islamic extremist in matland!

Now, remember the McDonald Pig Toy Fisco in Singapore 5 years ago? Our Muslim community and their religious leader have absolutely no issue about Pig Toys!



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McDonald's frantic backpedaling: The pig toy fiasco

There is such a thing as being too culturally sensitive. The Straits Times reports that fast food giant McDonald's opened up a virtual beehive in Singapore when it deliberately omitted pig characters from its latest toy promotion, earning the ire of netizens and Chinese customers.

The pig toy was suppose to be part of a 12-character Doraemon set depicting the animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, management at the Golden Arches decided not to include the pig toy to avoid offending Muslim customers, and had a Doraemon Cupid toy in its place instead -- a move which seriously upset Chinese customers keen on collecting all 12 toys in the series. A flurry of irate emails and demands by collectors and customers followed, and now the fast food giant has reversed its decision, adding a pig toy back to the promotional line-up

McDonald's apologizes

According to the Straits Times, the fast food chain was apologetic about the initial decision to yank the pig character. McDonald’s Restaurants communications director Linda Ming said the chain excluded the pig toy out of sensitivity for its Muslim customers and chose Cupid instead to commemorate Valentine’s Day, which coincides with the first day of the Chinese New Year this year, on Feb 14. "We seek our customers' understanding that it has never been our intention to be disrespectful towards any religion or culture."

But the damage is already done. Blogs and forums are already calling it an overreaction and experts say it showed a lack of cross-cultural understanding. Sociologist Daniel Goh said that if McDonald’s did not consult Muslim opinions before making the decision to exclude the pig toy, the company had then assumed Muslim sensibilities, which amounted to a form of self-censorship.

Dr Mohamad Maznah, a visiting senior research fellow with the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said to the Straits Times that she felt the restaurant was just being cautious, although she doubted the Muslim community here would have been upset if the pig toy had been included. Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, an assistant professor of Malay Studies at NUS, said, "Pigs and dogs are not non-halal, except when they are consumed."

Backlash from the blogsphere

Blogger Vlad Tepes posted that "this decision makes about as much sense as Afghanistan’s lone hog which has been quarantined due to fears of swine flu, a virus that the rest of the advanced world realizes is not contracted by direct contact with pigs, or the fatwa issued by Malaysian Muslim clerics against the evils of yoga."

Rajesh Chhabara wrote on the CSR Works blog that "McDonald's lack of cross-cultural understanding points to a common trend among multinational companies who often neglect to deploy corporate responsibility managers with local insight in Asia. What McDonald's should have done was to engage with the Muslim community's leadership to discuss the promotion and the dilemma it faced."

Forums have been inundated with opinions. Pappy commented on the Straits Times report that "McDonald's wrongly interprets the halal certification, and takes political correctness to the extreme to cater to the religious extremists. It not only disappoints the Chinese with its insensible decision, it also makes the vast majority of our moderate Muslims look bad."

lich_king asked why McDonald's didn't apply the same rule to the bull toy as well, as, according to McLogic, that could offend the Hindus who don't eat beef. Pauline Koh wrote in to the ST Forum, saying "In this case, the pig is one of the Chinese zodiac signs -- part of Chinese culture and customs -- and it is just a soft toy, not food. Will the sight of a Doraemon collectible pig soft toy offend anyone? Was the decision based on a recommendation from MUIS (the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore)?"

 

[eErotica69]

McDonald decided to have the Pig Doraemon afterall
Jan 22, 2010

Via McDonald Singapore website:

We could never have anticipated how passionate Singapore is about our Doraemon lucky charms. A happy community is important to us, and it was never our intention to offend anyone.

Therefore we are grateful for your feedback. This, we believe, is the backbone of McDonald’s™ relationship with you. You tell us, we listen.

We are doing our best to make things right. And as you have requested, we will bring in the Doraemon ‘pig’ lucky charm to complete your collection in mid-April owing to production schedule.

Just a small favour: Please indicate* below your interest to purchase Doraemon ‘pig’ lucky charm at $2 each (all nett proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity™). We really want to make sure there are enough stocks to meet your needs.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of McDonald’s™.

There’s finally a conclusion to this quirky little episode of the missing pig in the latest series of McDonald toy offering.

McDonald first claimed in a reply published in the Straits Times that the Doaraemon toys were not meant to be a Chinese Zodiac set in the first place and were instead, “lucky charms”. Hence the pig was replaced with a “Cupid” since the launch date coincides with Valentine’s Day.

It’s a lame excuse – eleven out of the other twelve toys coincide with eleven animals in the Chinese Zodiac, sans the pig. Not Chinese Zodiac indeed…

From the start, McDonald could have avoided this problem altogether by offering BOTH the pig and the Cupid Doraemon. In this way, both Muslims and Chinese customers’ “sensitivities” would have been taken into account.

Nonetheless, I do applaud the McDonald Singapore management for churning out this pig offer in such a short lead time. It shows that McDonald do listen and response to their customers.

Now that everyone can get their pig or Cupid Doraemon, let’s move on. There are more pressing national issues.

 

[Agoraphobic]

What do the authorities in Malaysia say then when the Chinese celebrate the Year of the Pig?

Cheers!