Iklan Hari Raya ittew......

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Assalaaaammmmmuuaalllaaaiiiikummmm...!!

(Tune miak skolah mintak derma Jogathon)

And Salam Fabulous sumaaa!!

Erm, lately ada la org berkacoh pasal iklan raya tv3. Honestly, I've never came across to that ads (on TV), I only watched it in some guy's blog. Then, soon after dat, tv3 tarik balik iklan tu. So punahlaa harapan aku nak tangga lam tv. Reason penarikan adalah kerana iklan ya dianggap sebagai TIDAK SENSITIF.

Neway, since ads ya dah kenak tarik, so probably this post is out-dated.

Not that I'm delaying the entry la, just dat, I'm still thinking of the way to fashion the writing. 

Cos, to me, (depends on how u look at it) tis issue can be down-right sensitive.

...

Ok. Mind you dat tis entry is not meant to condemn any party. 

I'm not affiliated to any particular politicking nor any religious extremist. 

Just a flash review.

And mind you dat, we are discussing about a HARI RAYA ads. 

BUKAN iklan 1Malaysia ka apa ka....

...

First of all, to me the whole idea of the ads is shallow.

Not enuf homework, ill-portrayed (note the prefix ill-, i didn't used "wrong"), 

and yeah....it touches some sensitivity of certain religion.

Now let us all be reminded, that HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI adalah perayaan keagamaan. It is NOT a Cultural Celebration. So when we talk about religious celebration, especially amongst Muslim, there are certain NORMS dat we must (try) not sacrifice for the sake of equality or solidarity or watever u called it. Tis norms are the gists dat make the celebration as it is. Whoever you are, one always need to accept 'em.

And to substitute those with something literally 'new' will be a very daring attempt. 

Now, concerning the ads, I am quite shocked (and to be honest a lil' disturbed) wif the details of the ads. 

Here it goes...

First, the up-side down Jawi written script ( YES it can be anything, but for Muslims, the closest association will be the Holy Quran right? Mustahil la buku teks PAI darjah tiga??? tol sik?). 

What is the whole motives of putting an insert of a red (YES, clearly red) trishaw in a Jawi written script?

Motipppppp!!!

And suddenly some pakcik wearing kupiah datang with a red flying trishaw. The first thing that pops out my mouth is "Aihhh....Santa Clause kaa???" 

Really? Like really really? A Muslim Santa Clause? Isn't it too much?

I know that the idea is metaphoric and magical, but to me, tak kena laaaa. 

Then suddenly pakcik tua jadi driver van sapu mbak miak jalan2 satu Malaysia.

I don't want to touch on the places they were brought strolling to because to me it is so not RAYA-relevant. 

Secondly, the lotus flower popping here and there. Aih, wats dat about? What it has to do with Hari Raya spirit?

Pakcik tua ambik budak2 dari rumah ke rumah then di mbak ke padang bermain dgn bunga ajaib. Apa kesss?

Wats the significance? Nothing.

Again, to me the whole concept of this ads is uncanny. 

Let say it is meant to depict the unity of a multi-cultural country - it failed. 

It makes the entire ads looking insensitive.

Let say it is a HARI RAYA ads - it failed BIG TIME. 

In fact, it defeats the purpose. Wif so many not RAYA-relevant details, this is not a Hari Raya ads.

Cuma sekadar iklan yg pelakonnya berbaju kurung and berbaju melayu, nait beca terbang, main bunga ajaib.

The only HARI RAYA about the ads is kacau DODOL (ya pun dlm kawah bunga teratai!)

and SATU (yes....cuma satu) sarung Ketupat.

And some pelita.

The ads is lacking in Hari Raya spirit. The director must've misinterpret the whole idea of Hari Raya - or worst, he's just plain clueless. 

Idea yg cuba ditonjolkan seolah-olah making hari raya spirit as something MAGICAL, y'know.

Magical wif flying trishaw, psychedelic-flower-popping, shooting stars and all.....

Dats NOT what Hari Raya is all about.

Probably dats what Hari Raya to you, but dats not to us.

Im sorry to tell you Mister, noble as you are, you get it all wrong.

Tis is not a 1Malaysia ads - far from being a Hari Raya ads.

Tis is JUST (ill-fitted) ads.

So, bila iklan seumpama ini jadi santapan bulan puasa....of cos public akan melatah. 

Who' wudnt?

Iklan Hari Raya adalah antara iklan yang di nanti-nanti, tp bila garapannya menghairankan...of cos kesannya jadi isu besar. And, of cos, akan ada org akan interpret the uncanny idea into his own POV (same wif what im doing now). Especially, bila iklan ya ada byk "coincidences" yg bukan Islamic (hakikat Hari Raya adalah perayaan yang Islamic....is a FACT. period.) , some ppl will treat tis as a religious issues. 

And some will take it as a political issues. 

And bila ada org yang (over) bising2 pasal iklan ya, dats doesnt mean dat they are being insecure wif their FAITH. 

Of cos, FAITH 

is not defined by how many sarung ketupat dlm iklan raya,

is not defined by how many scarf wearing models

is not defined by iklan Hari Raya itself.

But to those yang treat as if orang yg melatah pasal iklan tok as not being FAITHFUL, 

nya seharusnya cermin diriknya mpun juak.

Yeah, you might be a a very liberal muslims or a very open-minded person,

but, when it comes to norms of religious ruling, there must be some level of respects to it

 And to decipher it thru todays' logic is something dat is not quite right.

Of course it makes you look very modern and forward looking, 

but dat doesnt make u a FAITHFUL believers either.

We are not a closed minded people, we just lived up to what we believe in to.

Friends,

From the bottom of my heart, I apologize if tis entry finds u not (so) well.

I support the ads to be withdrawn from being aired -ever again.

And as a gentle reminder, don't take matters (especially regarding ppls' beliefs n way of life) easily. 

Because, there are peoples watching over.

Tis is Matt Ashkeroth

We Compromise, But Don't Push It.

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