It's the year of the dog in the Chinese zodiac, but the creature is conspicously missing on this T-shirt.
All but two animals, the dog and the pig, appear on this Chinese zodiac T-shirt on sale at a hypermarket outlet.
PETALING JAYA: There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, but two of them are conspicously missing from a T-shirt sold at a major hypermarket chain, drawing reactions from Malaysians online.
The T-shirt has the image of all the animals except the pig and dog, which are instead replaced with Chinese characters.
The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a 12-year cycle. This year, it is the turn of the dog.
A check at a Giant hypermarket branch in the Klang Valley shows the T-shirt comes in various sizes, and sold at a discounted price of RM10.88.
FMT failed to contact the hypermarket’s management, but a salesperson said the product has been on display since last month.
She said the shirt was designed in time for Chinese New Year next month.
Asked about the two missing zodiac signs, she said the manufacturer could be targetting customers of all races including Malays.
While it is not immediately clear why the two creatures are not pictured, authorities have in the past banned or restricted materials depicting the dog and pig, animals which Malaysia’s Shafi’i Muslims consider as unclean.
In 1995, Malaysia banned the comedy film “Babe” for portraying the main character of a pig, although a DVD release was approved years later.
In 2016, the character of a pig was removed from promotional posters for Hong Kong blockbuster film, “The Monkey King 2”.
Two years earlier, activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi drew the ire of Islamic authorities for organising an event giving Muslims the opportunity to touch the dog, as well as how to cleanse themselves after that.
A guideline by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which oversees the halal industry, also prohibits the use of the name “dog”, forcing popular products such as A&W’s famed Coney Dog to be renamed.
Meanwhile, social media users are already debating about the omission.
Many believe that it could be due to religious and cultural sentiments, but said they should not be forced upon others.
“Why should Chinese ignore their own culture for some over zealots of this country?” asked Edward Ho. -FMT
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