A Malaysian sex blogging duo has created a major scandal without even dropping off their clothes. The duo hurt Muslim sentiments by posing with a pork dish on the eve of the holy fasting month Ramadan and wishing festive greeetings.
Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 25 and Vivian Lee, 24, posted the photo enjoying a meal of 'bak kut teh' which is generally made of pork ribs and had festive greetings 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa, dengan Bak Kut Teh... Wangi, enak, menyelerakan!' written on top, which translates to 'happy breaking fast with Bak Kut Teh, aromatic, tasty and appetizing.
Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork as explicitly mentioned in the holy text of Quran.
Further adding to the ridicule, the photo with the 'Halal' logo had a caption by the notorious duo, which when translated to English read: "Allow us to introduce our way of inculcating the the spirit of 1Malaysia and that is by exchanging food between the races in Malaysia during this holy celebration. The right to enjoy local delicacies should cross the boundaries of race and also religion. To Muslims, happy breaking fast and Salam Aidilfitri - Your friends, Alvin and Vivian."
When asked of the motif behind the photo, Alvin Tan told The Star Online that the hurtful greeting was posted for "no reason. Just a joke, I guess".
"I was just curious to see how people will perceive it. It seems not everybody is on the same page as us. It is dark humour. It is just our attempt to see how it will be perceived. It is just trying to be humorous on the matter."
But there seemed to be little remorse on Tan's part for the insensitive prank as he said that he didn't regret it yet.
However, the act drew major flak as the Facebook post invited more than 1,000 disapproving comments and was later put down for hurting religious sentiments.
Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, slamming the act told reporters, "This is a multi-racial country and we must respect the religious beliefs as well as traditions and cultures of all Malaysians. At the same time we must be sensitive in religious issues," reported Malaysia Insider.
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Public Complaints Bureau chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong said, "They uploaded the picture despite knowing the sensitivities involved. What are they trying to prove? It gives the Chinese community a bad name," since the duo are of Chinese origin.
A Malay newspaper Sinar Harian reported that Dr Yeow Chai Thiam, MCA chief of Seremban, had filed a police complaint against the notorious duo on Saturday and urged the police to take required action against the couple.
He said, "If left unaddressed, we fear that it might affect our racial harmony and lead to larger issues." The Chinese community of Malaysia constitutes a minor part of the population.
According to Malaysian Communications And Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Strategic Communications advisor Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman, the commission has received various complaints against the couple under Sections 211 (offensive content) and 233 (improper use of network facilities) of the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act.
Irrespective of the severe flak from different sections, one human rights activist Wong Chin Huat came out in support of the infamous couple.
Malaysia Chronicle reported that according to Wong, the greeting act was far subtler than the 2009 incident whereby 'extremist Muslims paraded a severed cow's head - an animal sacred to Hindus - in protest to a decision by the Selangor state government to allow for a relocation of a Hindu Temple to a land next to a mixed neighbourhood.'
However, with the greeting act the young couple has managed to hog the limelight by coming with ludicrous and mass disapproving antics which even cost Alvin Tan Jye Yee losing his prestigious law scholarship.
