KPDNKK apologises after publishing rooster photo in CNY ad

KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) have apologised after a full-page advertisement they published in a Chinese daily featuring a picture of a barking rooster to mark the Year of the Dog sparked a flood of mockery.
The advertisement shows a rooster emitting the word "wang", used to represent a dog's bark in Mandarin.
Chinese New Year is being celebrated across the nation today, marking the beginning of the Year of the Dog following the end of the Year of the Rooster.
The ad sparked mockery online. While some lambasted the government for what they saw as a picture mix-up, others thought it was a cack-handed attempt to avoid using a dog image as the animals are considered unclean in Islam.
Netizens speculated as to whether this was an attempt to avoid using a canine picture.
The ministry issued an apology late Thursday and said a "technical error" as the reason for the mistake, without saying how they had intended the ad to appear.
"We deeply regret any inconvenience," said a statement from spokesman Luqman Hakim Abd Malik.
Images of barking canines are commonly used to mark the start of Year of the Dog, as the word "wang" also translates as "prosperity" in Mandarin. — AFP