AFTER Duck, a local designer brand owned by Vivy Yusof received backlash from netizens for creating a whole line of hijabs with Palestine’s flag colours, this time it is for entrepreneur Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri to face backlash from netizens. He is accused of exploiting the Palestinian people’s suffering to promote his hijab products.
In a viral Facebook video, Aliff, along with several individuals including Ira Kazar, wife of renowned director Syamsul Yusof, paraded with Palestinian and Malaysian flags.Twitter user @callmefye said:
Dorang kalau nak contribute patutnya dorg derma je terus. Kalau utk cancer ke, utk anak yatim ke, maybe sesuai la jual mcm ni. Utk Gaza ni mcm sgt x appropriate buat mcm ni.
— Tag Jones 🇵🇸 (@callmefye) October 14, 2023
(If they want to contribute, they should just donate directly. Whether it’s for cancer patients or orphans, selling like this might be suitable. But for Gaza, it’s not appropriate to do it this way.)
According to sources, while Aliff and Ira exhibited sombre expressions in solidarity with the Palestinian situation, the video subtly aimed to promote the hijab worn by Ira.Netizens criticised Aliff for insensitivity, stating it was not the appropriate time for such a promotion.The video shows him and a group of people walking down a residential street waving Malaysian and Palestinian flags. The video then shows several shots of a woman wearing multiple different hijabs, one of which netizens pointed out is Ira.
However, many felt the same way as they felt about the Duck campaign.
Nasib baik tak terseliuh lidah datok. Apa pun terbaik datok!! pic.twitter.com/EmidgCrJou
— Local Confessions (@ConfessionLocal) October 20, 2023
Following that, Twitter user @awanmendunhujan added:
Bro, benda ni sensitive bro, nak buat mcm ni buat betul2, pastu hujung2 tu bila alif ckp free for Palestin tu boleh pulak perempuan sebelah dia tu nak gelak, kau ingat apa siap boleh gelak lagi.. people are dying bro.. siap boleh gelak lagi menda do kau.
— awan mendung (@awanmendunhujan) October 20, 2023
(Bro, this issue is sensitive. If you want to do something like this, do it seriously. And at the end, when Aliff said it’s free for Palestine, the woman next to him even laughed. What do you think, laughing about something like this? People are dying, bro. How can you even laugh at something like that?)
Furthermore, it looks as though netizens are mad at artists and brands for what they call ‘taking advantage’ of the Palestinian crisis.Duck has apparently removed the products with Palestinian colours that it was selling following a massive backlash from netizens. – Oct 21, 2023
