The cosmetics and toiletries company took to Twitter to apologise for the advertisement, which it said was put up by a store worker, The Malay Mail Online reported.

“This was an unsanctioned act by one of our store staff that we disapprove of completely.

“We are so sorry for the hurt this has caused,” read the tweet on @TheBodyShop_MY.

The company is further investigating the matter so action can be taken against the employee responsible for the advertisement.

“We should never, and have never, practised racial selection in our human resources policy.

“To us, aptitude and experience, as well as skills and competencies such as language skills, are more important.”

The Body Shop Malaysia said that as an international company and brand, it had campaigned against discrimination of any kind in Malaysia for more than 30 years.

“It is indeed a constant uphill task to change mindsets and continue nurturing the culture of inclusiveness which we have so painstakingly built over the years, even as we continue to grow The Body Shop family in Malaysia.

“But we will never give up even if mistakes like this do happen.”

The offending advertisement was brought to the attention of Facebook users by Kishaniah Dhamodaran, who posted a photo of it yesterday.

The Body Shop is a British cosmetics and skincare company owned by L’Oreal, which bought over the company in 2006 from founder Anita Roddick, a human rights and environmental campaigner.

In Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, the franchise is held by Rampai-Niaga Sdn Bhd, which owns more than 70 stores.