Chinese New Year Causes Diplomatic Rift With ‘Muslim’ Malaysia

The government of Malaysia had to offer a formal apology to China after many Asians in their country felt offended by the government paid advert in most newspapers that failed to show a dog (it is the year of the dog for the Chinese) but instead showed a rooster.

Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/18532-China-Kicks-Off-New-Year-With-Blackface-Sketch-for-800-Million-Viewers"> China Kicks Off New Year With ‘Blackface’ Sketch for 800 Million Viewers</a>.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malaysia: Chinese Year of the Dog images removed to avoid offending Muslims <a href="https://t.co/Nvho8KXv0A">https://t.co/Nvho8KXv0A</a> <a href="https://t.co/Mnb4MIfKXo">pic.twitter.com/Mnb4MIfKXo</a></p>&mdash; Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) <a href="https://twitter.com/jihadwatchRS/status/964271360393564160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Though Malaysia claimed it was an honest mistake, many Chinese were quick to point out that the Dog is seen as unclean in Islam and therefore the government of Malaysia had chosen a rooster instead.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is conservative Islam taking over <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Malaysia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Malaysia</a>? Australian sources run this line fairly often - more precise to say that contests around the place of religion in social and political life are long-running and highly dynamic <a href="https://t.co/Rrj2G5FRFV">https://t.co/Rrj2G5FRFV</a></p>&mdash; Amrita Malhi (@AmritaMalhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmritaMalhi/status/964337999407230976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Images of barking dogs are commonly used in China to signify the start of Year of the Dog, and it is considered double luck as the word “wang” for dog, can also be translated as “prosperity” in Chinese Mandarin, the largest of both Chinese languages used.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Year of the Dog exposes growth of Islamic conservatism aka Islamism in Malaysia<br> <a href="https://t.co/jfxtwzhKBQ">https://t.co/jfxtwzhKBQ</a></p>&mdash; Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RitaPanahi/status/963688779948097538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>

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However, with Islamic conservatism peaking in Malaysia, many shops and shopping malls do not dare to show dogs in their displays this year, for fear of offending customers. The Chinese are clearly not amused and many social media users demanded an apology from some of their Muslim neighbours.

Source:

https://nation.com.pk/17-Feb-2018/malaysia-sorry-for-chinese-new-year-rooster-ad-cock-up