Servcorp apologises over 'wombat' Raya advertisement

Australian-based company Servcorp has publicly apologised on Monday following a controversial billboard advertisement featuring a 'wombat' that left a rather bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

Servcorp Malaysia extended its sincere apologies on its Facebook page for the confusion which the ad had inevitably caused among Malaysian Muslims due to the usage of the native Australian mammal (wombat) in a digital advertisement in Kuala Lumpur.

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“Servcorp is an Australian company and wombat is used as its company mascot. It would seem that some people mistook the wombat for a pig and during the holy month of Ramadan this might lead to some sensitivities,” wrote Servcorp.

For the uninitiated, wombat is a small furry bear-like animal that belongs to the Koala Bear family and is native to Australia.

Servcorp also stated that as an international business, it is not their intention to offend any race nor religion and there had been no prior issues globally with the usage of the mascot inclusive of Servcorp’s offices in the Middle East primarily in Saudi Arabia.

Last week, the 'billboard boasting a wombat' had caused an uproar of sorts on social networking sites where Netizens took their displeasure citing that the company has shown grave insensitivity to the Muslims in the country for featuring an image of a 'pig' in the ad.

It did not take Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to issue a notification for the company to remove the advertisement in Jalan Bukit Bintang, here.

Established in 1978, Servcorp is a leading provider of executive suites space and virtual office concept.