KUALA LUMPUR – If you are a Malaysian driving back to your home town this Hari Raya, it would be hard to miss the plethora of catchy billboards dotting the miles of
highways across Peninsular Malaysia
.
In between the light-hearted advertisements, however, some of these billboards have got on the nerves of many for using what may be deemed as misogynistic and sexist language – from skincare products playing on skin-colour sensitivities to healthcare supplements laced with sexual innuendoes.
For Malaysian paediatrician Ayne Zarof, one such billboard angered her so much years ago that she pushed for it to be taken down – and she actually succeeded after lodging a complaint with watchdog Advertising Standards Malaysia (ASA).
“So, I went through ASA, and it was a quick and straightforward process,” Dr Ayne, who now works in the United Kingdom, relayed to The Straits Times.
The billboard in question promoted a skin brightening serum with the tagline calling it “the cause for polygamy”, depicting a man in Malay traditional wedding attire shielding his eyes with sunglasses from the serum’s glare.
“It does not only make a joke about polygamy but also reduces women to objects,” she said in an Instagram post back then. “It insinuates that women attract other people’s husbands.”
In Malaysia, Muslim men may marry up to four wives under syariah law with the approval of the Syariah Court, although the practice remains controversial in society.
Admitting that she had little hope anything would be done, Dr Ayne told ST she was surprised when the offending ad was taken down two weeks later. ASA had ruled that the ad breached the Malaysian Code of Advertising Practice for being offensive and derogatory.
“I was hoping that with my video on social media, others could help clean up our streets,” she added about her post, which had gone viral in January 2026.
In the video, Dr Ayne said the billboard incident, which she said made her feel “nauseous and angry”, happened several years ago, but she decided to share her experience recently, in light of the
murder of
16
