-M.KRISHNAMOORTHY, November 8, 2012.

Petronas ‘has decided not to scrap the advertisement “Let’s do the Dappan” advertisement which drew thousands of negative comments in the social media yesterday.

It has not cancelled despite many calls from MIC, representatives of Government and Indian religious leaders that the Deepavali ad reflects Indians in bad light.

The ad’s “Dappan” is a musical played and danced in houses where death has occurred. It is meant to reduce sound of crying or to inform others about a death in Tamil villages.

It was shocking that after hundreds of comments in Youtube, Malaysiakini and social blogs on its negative connotations Petronas decided to retain the advertisement.

The overall consensus in the comments was that the three-minute festive clip depicting people dancing in the streets was in bad taste.

Petronas in a statement noted that a video clip “Do the Dappan”, embedded with positive messages, produced for broadcast on PETRONAS’ YouTube domain – also to complement a Deepavali exhibition Galeri Petronas entitled “Be the Light – A Celebration of Culture and tradition”.

 “Be the Light – A Celebration of Culture and Tradition”, our Campaign was conceptualised to reach out to a greater number of Malaysians from all walks of life, carrying the core messages of positive attributes and values associated with the spirit and celebration of Deepavali, the statement added.

Hindu Sangam Thanked

PETRONAS thanked the Religious Division of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, whose advice and counsel were invaluable in ensuring that our exhibition and messages are consistent with and reflect the spirit of the festival.
 

“Our Campaign – viewed in its entirety – is inspired by and revolves around this positive energy, epitomised via the passion, drive and resolve of Malaysia’s Indian community which are indeed attributes that are universally relevant to all of us.

These positive attributes are something that we should all promote, inculcate and emulate.”

A film director who was asked for a response on Petronas not pulling out the commercial, said: “This is getting very hot and it is becoming political because the Government is going to lose Indian votes in the coming elections. Now, the picture is getting clear as the Najib Adminstration is going to be shaken up with this controversial ad.”
 
Many viewers it was a far cry from the late film maker Yasmin Ahmad’s affectionate, meaningful and memorable work to celebrate Malaysian festivities.

Launched on YouTube on Sunday, the Happy Deepavali advertisement has now got hundreds of negative comments.
Drawing negative comments in the social media,  bloggers were very critical stating that is unfortunate that Indians are viewed in bad light. The comments from a blogger added: “ Is this is how the Indian community is viewed – uncultured, street people, only good to work as barbers. Nobody wants to see the professional side of the Indians.

“ There are so many Indian lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs and researchers. Why only the ‘street baboons’ are depicted here? Is this 1 Malaysia’s way of making a joke of the Indian community?”

Former Malaysian Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam had said: “It is a controversial advertisement from the start. It shows gangster-like Indian characters causing havoc in the community.

“The clip stereotypes Indians negatively as the ones creating traffic jams by dancing in the middle of the streets.”

Senator S Ramakrishnan expressed shock that the advertisement was not pulled out because of the negative feedback.
“How can Petronas say thanks to negative feedback and retain the ad? This is not good for its corporate social responsibility as it is not sensitive to its stakeholders who are also Indians. Indians will be furious and may result in a boycott of its products.”

According to him, the clip does not represent the more than 5,000-year-old Indian culture or the sentiment of celebrating Deepavali among Hindus the world over.

“The advertisement does not portray Indian culture, but is based on the current trend of Tamil films that depict violence, gangsterism and idol worship of film stars.

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M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance correspondent and producer working with overseas TV networks. He has in the past interviewed the late Yasmin Ahmad and written reviews of Petronas commercials directed by her.
 
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