Netizens Are Mocking Tourism Malaysia And Luis Suarez For This 'Happy CNY' Greeting
Suarez tweeted a photo of him saying "Vanakkam", while wishing everyone a happy CNY.
By Jia Vern Tham — 19 Feb 2018, 07:08 PM
Luis Suarez, who plays as a striker for both FC Barcelona and the Uruguay national team, wished Malaysians a happy Chinese New Year (CNY) in a tweet
"Other than celebrating and experiencing different cultures in Malaysia, I'm also learning some basic Malaysian words," Suarez wrote in his tweet.
However, while he wished everyone a happy CNY, he attached a photo of him saying "Vanakkam" (hello in Tamil), with Batu Caves as its background.
Twitter users ridiculed Suarez for his greeting, and suggested that another photo of him in Penang would have been more suitable for his CNY tweet
The striker seems to have mixed up the different cultures of the country, and has been mocked and criticised by netizens.
People have called the incident embarrassing, and the partnership between Suarez and Tourism Malaysia a waste of money.
Some have also suggested that Suarez should've used another photo of him in Penang for his tweet about CNY.
The photo, featuring Suarez in a traditional Chinese costume with Penang's famous Kek Lok Si Temple as its background, seems more appropriate for the CNY greeting. In contrast, Batu Caves is more popular as the centre for a great religious procession during Thaipusam celebrations.
The photo in Suarez's tweet was a still taken from a recent Tourism Malaysia video, where he says hello and welcome in Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Tamil
According to Tourism Malaysia, Suarez learnt some basic greetings to "help during his visit to Malaysia".
However, the 19-second video attracted criticisms from many netizens.
Netizens have chided both Tourism Malaysia and Luis Suarez for poor production quality of the video and the greeting for CNY
Malaysiakini reported that the government spent a total of RM7.5 million for the whole Tourism Malaysia campaign
According to the report, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said RM3.1 million was paid for four, 60-second videos that will feature Suarez promoting tourism destinations, culture, food, and traditional sports in Malaysia.
Therefore, Suarez was paid up to RM775,000 for each video he is featured in.
Furthermore, the Tourism Malaysia advertisements will also be screened at 18 stadiums during La Liga matches through cooperation with FC Barcelona.