While Malaysians live in a multiracial and multicultural society, there have been some unfortunate incidents of public figures making fun of another race and religion. Most recently, Era FM DJs Ahmad Nabil, Azad Jazmin and Radin Amir Affendy sparked backlash for making fun of Hindus.
The controversy began after the official Era FM social media account shared a video of Azad making fun of the sacred Thaipusam kavadi ritual in front of Nabil, Radin and the rest of the ERAfm crew. In the now-deleted video, the radio host was mocking how Hindu devotees enter a trance while performing the ritual as his colleagues laughed along and chanted “vel vel” in the background.
Understandably, the offensive video sparked outrage from the public, calling it insensitive and racist. It also garnered the attention of local politicians and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), who called for the government to take action against the radio hosts. Soon after the incident went viral, the Communications Ministry said it would investigate Era FM and Astro Radio regarding the video.
Following the backlash, Azad, Nabil and Radin issued an apology video for offending the public with their recent actions. In the video, the trio acknowledged their actions as insensitive, especially towards the Indian community. The radio personalities also said they never intended to offend anyone with their actions and would ensure the same mistake would not happen again.
Era FM also posted a written apology, acknowledging the radio channel’s mistake. The comments section for the apology video and notice was closed off. However, the public continues to express disappointment towards the radio hosts for their insensitive actions. Some also noted that this isn’t the first time the Malay radio channel was called out for making fun of other races and religions.
It’s also reported that the three radio hosts are suspended until further notice while Astro Radio reviews the situation internally. What are your thoughts on this?
Watch the video of Azad and the hosts’ apology video below:
@gopalanmarimuthu Shame on You Era FM, Contoh yang amat memalukan yang Menghina upacara sembahyang dan Kepercayaan agama orang Hindu! #ERAFM #publicapology
Sources: MalayMail, Free Malaysia Today, Twitter, Instagram (1)(2)
