A controversial billboard that featured education tycoon Lim Kok Wing posing with a cheetah and in a crowd of African students was designed by an employee as a surprise gift, according to regional industry site advertising+marketing.
The site quoted a Limkokwing University spokesperson who said that the "King of Africa" billboard was not part of a formal project or initiative.
The spokesperson also admitted that the billboard which said "King of Africa" and had an illustration of Lim posing with a cheetah, alongside an image of him standing in the centre of a large crowd of African students, allegedly in Sierra Leone, was "done in poor taste."
The university had recently apologised and removed the billboard which was previously displayed at the plaza of its main Cyberjaya campus.
"We were wrong and for that, we would like to formally extend our heartfelt and sincerest apologies to our beloved students, employees, and the community. We are sorry," the university said in a recent tweet.
Aside from a sizeable population of African students and staff at its Malaysian campus, the university also reportedly has a presence in Botswana, Eswatini, and Lesotho.
An online petition that called for the removal of the billboard said Lim's image, which portrayed him as a saviour, serves to perpetuate a notion that "black people need saving".
The petition said the notion is responsible for "taking away (black people's) power and psychologically placing them in an inferior role."
It added that the use of a jungle animal and reference to "king" further perpetuates ideas of Africa as one big jungle and "adds to the (wrongful) animalistic characterisation of the students".
Outcry over the billboard was partly linked to a new awareness on race-based issues across the region, following the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the US after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.