It’s a dog’s life for Chinese zodiac animal in Muslim-majority Malaysia

Liow Sze Xian Liow Sze Xian Updated 6 years ago · Published on 13 Jan 2018 11:00AM · 9 Comments

A shopper looking at Chinese New Year decorations at a wholesalers in Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, January 13, 2018.

NOT all animals are created equal, as far as some Malaysian businesses and retailers are concerned when it comes to the Chinese zodiac signs.

Several major businesses will be avoiding any canine depiction, as Chinese Malaysians prepare to usher in the Year of the Dog on February 16.

Sunway Malls chief operating officer Kevin Tan told The Malaysian Insight the mall did not use any display of the dog in 2006 (the previous cycle of the dog year).

“This is due to creative considerations. We have many choices. We don’t necessarily have to use the image of a dog.

“Culture is also a consideration. A mall is a public space, different races will be gathered here,” he said.

“We’ll avoid any decorations with contentious elements.”

Sunway Malls, a retail division of the Sunway Group, manages five shopping complexes in the Klang Valley and Penang. The five are Sunway Pyramid (Subang Jaya) and Sunway Giza (Kota Damansara) in Selangor, Sunway Putra and Sunway Velocity in Kuala Lumpur, and Sunway Carnival (Seberang Perai, Penang).

Similarly, the group avoided any depictions of the dog the last time the zodiac animal was celebrated in 2006.

The Chinese zodiac assigns a different animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. 

The dog comes after the rooster and before the pig in the zodiac.

A spokesman for “Farm in the City”, a popular petting zoo in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, said his company had not decided whether to avoid dog-themed Chinese New Year decorations to avoid offending Muslim sensitivities.

However, he said that the company had always sought to be “considerate” to the feelings of the majority religion.

“Even if we are organising an animal exhibition, we will not exhibit pigs or dogs. Every country’s customs is different. Singapore can have an exhibition on pigs, but this is Malaysia,” said the spokesman, who only gave his first name as Alex.

He said while there were Muslims who would enter the pet store at the Farm In the City to look at the dogs, pet them and even send rescued stray, most Muslims would be uncomfortable with looking at and touching the animals.

Restaurant owner Muhammad Dayan Kamal Mustapah Kamal, 33, said as a Muslim he agreed that there should not be any dog-themed Chinese New Year decorations.

“Not all Muslims in Malaysia or Malays can accept dog decorations. Some Muslims are very sensitive. This is linked to the teachings of Islam.”

He said even a picture of dog can be offensive to Muslims.

Wary of public backlash, businesses in Malaysia have often been careful not to offend Muslim sensitivities.

Earlier this month, the Giant Hypermarket courted controversy from netizens for selling a T-shirt of the 12 zodiac animals, but the dog and pig images were replaced with characters spelling out the animals’ names.

In October 2016, pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s was asked to rename its “pretzel dog” to “pretzel sausage” by the Malaysia Islamic Development Department.

The same year, a half-man, half-pig character in the Chinese New Year blockbuster Monkey King 2 was removed from its posters. The film distributor, Golden Screen Cinemas, said it modified the poster on its own initiative.

However, not all Muslims think giving next year’s zodiac animal the underdog status is necessary.

Amir, a 27-year-old photographer, said Chinese New Year decorations featuring the dog was not a problem for him as it was part of Chinese culture.

“I don’t feel offended as it is just used as a new year decoration. If some Muslims use this to kick up a fuss, they are too extreme.”

He said every culture should be given space to develop, as long as it is not done in bad faith, such as using a picture of a dog to provoke or belittle Muslims. – January 13, 2018.

* This article has been edited for corrections on January 15. The errors are regretted.

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Comments

  • I do not understand the Chinese race. Why are such own culture and beliefs in a multi racial country developed up by they themselves as a Malaysian race are now being held in ransom in fear of bigots and racist from one dominant race. Why is the accomodating naure in the guise of creative consideration . It is this attitude that allows one own race and cultures in not being respected and trampled on. Unity and respects are a collective actions and we ourselves are to bame if one is too much an aggressor and the other are too much a coward. The shopping malls are not promoting any harmony in all the races if it is alwaysa skewed in ensuring that the dominant race are not offended. Did the other race feel offende when the dominant cultures are blatant all over the townm during the festive season. No!!!! because the nons are open minded and this should be reciprocated. The nons are the Malaysains and not refugees or illegal immigrants. So please shoping malls and others public areas of gathering ----------- stop the hypocrisy. .

    Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • Though the Muslims claim that dogs are unclean, they haven't given plausible explanation. A dog is so smart it can be thought anything. A great disservice to degrade any God created animal. Not eating pork is from the old testament and a Jewish tradition predating Islam. However Christians can consume as the Bible says, it's not what goes in but what comes out of man's mouth that causes harm...How so very true of our nation.

    Posted 6 years ago by Alphonz Jayaraman · Reply

  • If the Chinese keep doing this kind of "creative consideration", one day they will be asked to abandon their surname like what happened to the Indonesia Chinese, because the non-Muslim names of the Chinese are too offensive for the Muslim Malays to see let alone pronounce, then the Chinese here would have to come out with surnames, like Alee, creatively reinvented from Lee, to please their masters.

    Posted 6 years ago by Mo Zhi · Reply

  • Thus year it's the Dog and next will be the Pig....these are animals created by God and Muslims don't accept God's creations ? It's the Muslims that wanted to create a new world which they wanted ....let's face facts and accept life as it is! These folks in Bolehland had created things today and in the past with their narrow mindedness and most backed fired on them. Wake up and accept this facts of life and live live to the fullest. LOL

    Posted 6 years ago by Crishan Veera · Reply

  • Im a Malay, Im a Muslim, and I dont mind the non muslim want to use dog or pig as decoration. just go ahead. I dont understand why most Malay is very sensitive to this. Your faith will decrease ke? I really dont understand the mentality. Thou some Malay are very open minded to these, i still cant 'brain' why most of us cant accept that we live in a multi cultural country, if there are dogs, or pigs, or even cross decorations, thats not for us muslim la bang. We have our eid, even though we slaughter cow to give to the poor, do we see any hindu stop our festive? no right? So bang, please la, if the non muslim wants to celebrate their festival, with their own way, let it be. It does not bother any muslim at all. but pelik, it bother malays. hmmm

    Posted 6 years ago by T Scalper · Reply

  • Just because we muslim prohibited to pet dog or eat pig, it doesn't mean we hate them. They're still created by God. They have the same right to live like other animals. It's even a good deed to feed a dog for an example.
    Those malays who hate dog/pig that they going to kick the animals ass are narrow minded. So decoration is probably a way to open their mind a little.

    Posted 6 years ago by Rosli M · Reply

  • I think the Sunway Mall COO think too much.

    Posted 6 years ago by Loo Tham · Reply