Malaysia boasts a multicultural background where people of different races and religions live together in harmony and respect for each other. However, time and time again, an issue will arise when someone makes a racial-charged comment on social media, leading to tons of backlash from the public.
Twitter user Naqib Faiq recently posted an image of canned beers sold on the premises of AEON Kepong. Along with the photo, he wrote, “Just went to Aeon Kepong. Am I living in (a) kaffir (infidel) country?”. The user’s tweet suggests that having alcohol openly sold in public is against Islamic beliefs, so by allowing the sale of alcohol, Malaysia is a country that promotes disrespect towards Islam. In a separate tweet, Naqib also quoted a law that bans the sale of alcohol in the open, lamenting that supermarkets shouldn’t disobey the law to accommodate a cultural celebration.
The tweets led to a surge of netizens slamming Naqib for his tweet, calling it racist. Many noted that Naqib pointing out alcohol because it’s “haram” (forbidden) is biased as he doesn’t seem to be concerned with the sale of cigarettes, which is also haram in Islam. Many netizens also said he shouldn’t be concerned with the sale of alcohol, even in public, because it doesn’t mean the store is forcing Muslim customers to purchase or consume the drink.
Netizens also pointed out that the demographic for the Kepong area is mainly Chinese, so the supermarket is merely marketing towards the target audience and is not challenging one’s faith. However, in line with that, many also mocked Naqib, questioning the fragility of his faith and how easily he is offended by the sight of alcohol in public.
In response to Naqib’s comment about it being illegal for local stores to sell alcohol in the open, some netizens pointed out that the law quoted by Naqib does not apply to supermarkets, thus putting him in the wrong. Many also mentioned that Naqib may have purposely posted the tweet with a racist tone to farm engagement because his verified account allows for the monetisation of his tweets.
What do you think about this issue? Was Naqib merely sharing his opinion? Or were netizens right to call him out for racism?
Source: Twitter
