The NGOs said these promotional advertisements – for a television series titled “Pak Su Ammara” – comprised several messages revolving around marital life, which were displayed on MRT trains.
The messages include “A wife who refuses emotional and physical needs will sin and be kept far from heaven” and “What’s the point of a wife being highly educated if she can’t cook?”
The NGOs said they recognised that marketing strategies often rely on provocation and “clickbait” to attract attention and may not fully reflect the values of the show itself.
“However, it does not excuse messaging that humiliates women and reinforces the notion that women are inferior or obligated to submit to their spouses.
“What’s more, these highly irresponsible and demeaning messages are open to dangerous misinterpretation with the potential to influence individuals or communities towards gender discrimination,” they said in a joint statement.
Among the groups that panned the promotional advertisements were the Women’s Aid Organisation, the All Women’s Action Society, SIS Forum (Malaysia), Martabat PJ, Family Frontiers, and Tenaganita.
They said allowing a popular television show to disseminate messages like these “serves to normalise and reinforce dangerous and harmful assumptions and beliefs about the role of women in society”.
The NGOs called on the communications ministry to investigate how these ads were approved and allowed to be displayed in public advertising spaces.
They also urged MRT, Astro, and the show’s producers to remove them immediately and to apologise “for promoting these irresponsible messages”.
“Companies have a responsibility to ensure their attention-grabbing marketing tactics do not legitimise harmful gender norms.
“This incident highlights the urgent need for corporate marketing teams to be better educated on gender issues,” they said, adding that the ministry should establish clear guidelines to prevent harmful gender messaging in public advertising.
Astro apologises, takes down ads
Astro later apologised for the ads, saying it immediately removed them after hearing of the concerns raised.
The broadcaster said the messages in the ads were meant to highlight and challenge harmful mindsets in the show by inviting public dialogue. However, it acknowledged that the messages were presented in a public setting without the full context.
“This may have led to unintended interpretations and we apologise unreservedly for any resulting misunderstanding.
“Astro does not endorse these views. The intention with dramas like Pak Su Ammara is to surface real-world and fictionalised stereotypes that the series examines as the plot progresses,” it said in a statement.
Astro added that the show pushed the theme of women empowerment at its core, and that it remained committed to responsible storytelling and supporting efforts for greater gender equity in Malaysia.
“The advertisements in question have been removed immediately. Thank you for sharing your views and helping us improve the way we approach sensitive themes in public spaces.”