PETALING JAYA: Malaysians had better hit the text books and familiarise themselves with the animal kingdom before making false claims and causing panic among others.
Just as one irresponsible member of the public did when mistaking a wombat for a pig. Incensed at the disrespect shown, this person posted online a screenshot of the digital advertisement featuring the animal, causing a panic in cyberspace and resulting in Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) having to temporarily pull it down.
Mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib confirmed the pulling down of the advertisement along Jalan Bukit Bintang and said DBKL officials were trying to reach Servcorp, an Australia-based company the advertisement belonged to.
“An irresponsible person perceived it as a pig and spread false rumours on the Internet which led to the public misconception,” the mayor was quoted as saying on The Star Online.
He also agreed the animal in the digital advertisement was a wombat, a marsupial like kangaroos, wallabies and koala bear which Australia is famous for, and not a pig as claimed.
The wombat in the Servcorp advertisement is named Sidney, which the company claims as the “world’s wisest wombat”.
In the erroneous messages that went viral, Sidney was mistaken for a “pig wearing a songkok and baju Melayu while accompanied by a Selamat Hari Raya greeting”, the news portal said.
Sidney is usually dressed in a hat, coat and brown pants.
Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com
