Advertisement

'Sex bloggers' back with offensive Ramadhan post

Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee are slammed for provocative 'bak kut teh' post.


[UPDATE: Sun 14 July, 11pm]

Their latest publicity stunt has gone a little too far, and now they're paying for it with Facebook permanently shutting down their account on Saturday.

"Our Facebook page is permanently gone due to rampant reporting against us," infamous Malaysian sex blogger Alvin Tan tweeted on his @Alviviswingers account on Saturday.

"FB's staff replied: "Your Page has received strong negative feedback, yadda, yadda, yadda, before uttering a four-letter expletive," read the next tweet, explaining why their account had been shut down by Facebook.

Undeterred, in a flurry of tweets and conversations with their near 4,000 followers, Tan continued, "You may shut us down now, but we'll be back. And we'll be stronger & better than ever! NANTIKAHLAH. Enjoy your Ramadhan for now, "friends".

However, late on Sunday, even he appeared to come around and admitted the couple's latest publicity stunt was "the stupidest one" ever and  "even I had to admit it. We, were, wrong."

Earlier on Saturday, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek called it “unacceptable” and vowed to take action against them.

The pair are also due to appear before the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission on Monday to explain their recent online activity.

Related story: MCMC hauls up sex blogger couple

The duo – who caused a scandal here and across the Causeway with their explicit sex blog in October last year, now appear to be out to nudge the sensitivities of Muslims during the holy month of Ramadhan.
 
In a photo posted on their Facebook fanpage, the pair is seen enjoying a meal of ‘bak kut teh’, a dish popularly known to consist of pork. The words “Selamat berbuka puasa (dengan bak kut teh…wangi, enak menyelerakan!)’ (Happy breaking fast (with bak kut teh….aromatic, tasty and appetizing) appear at the top.
 
The photo also displayed the Halal logo.

These words captioned the photo: Izinkan kami memperkenalkan cara kami memupuk semangat 1Malaysia dengan bertukar-tukar makanan antara kaum-kaum Malaysia pada musim perayaan yang mulia ini. Hak untuk menikmati juadah enak tempatan seharusnya merentasi batasan bangsa dan juga agama. Kepada saudara-saudari yang beragama Islam, selamat berbuka puasa dan Salam Aidilfitri!  - Sahabatmu, Alvin dan Vivian.

[Allow us to introduce our way of inculcating the the spirit of 1Malaysia and that is by exchanging food between the races in Malaysia during this holy celebration. The right to enjoy local delicacies should cross the boundaries of race and also religion. To Muslims, happy breaking fast and Salam Aidilfitri - Your friends, Alvin and Vivian).
 
Needless to say the post drew the wrath of not just Muslims, but Facebook users of various races and faiths who joined the bandwagon and slammed the couple for using the Halal logo on their photo and insulting Muslims.

What Facebook users said

Less than a day after Tan and Lee shared the 'greeting' on Facebook, the post received close to 300 shares.

Outraged, user Elly Yusof blasted the couple saying, “I pity your lame effort of gaining cheap publicity by insulting others. Crass.”

“Nothing wrong with ur msg, but it is so wrong to use halal logo! You should be a bit more sensitive about this... because it causes direct insult to MUSLIM as the religion that our Malay friends believe,” said a Pete Sin, whose comment received close to 700 likes in 14 hours.

Here are more comments:

Hazel Sia: Can we just ignore this shameless couple? They do not represent the Malaysian Chinese, they are the worst garbage... no respect for others and their own families.

Abel Chow : Fellow Malaysians, these two are the perfect prime example of trollers in Malaysia. They do nothing but try their very best to incite any form of reaction through the means of social media to increase their fame. For regardless of how much you hate them or love them (No publicity is bad publicity in terms of fame / showbiz). Therefore the very best we can do is refrain ourselves to paying any form of response towards their distasteful acts and they will soon be forgotten.

Moving on to the topic of racism, these two are the prime example of Chinese people (in fact any or every minority) in Malaysia of which considers Malays to be racist yet they themselves are being racist. Morality and respect of honor with towards one another exists in the very soul of an individual. It is not solely contained in any form of race nor religion. So my fellow Malaysians, rejoice in the fact that there are amongst us that so share the love of sharing this country lovingly. It is time we be one.

I am a Chinese, I must admit I feel ashamed for those amongst my race that do not share my sentiments towards peace and understanding as well. Prouder to say, I'm Malaysian. To my Muslim friends and all
partaking in this Ramadan, I wish you all Ramadan Kareem.

Asyraful Sabqi Sadun : They dont represent the chinese. So dont blame the race guys.

HamDan MooNir : This post is great...You just make millions of Muslim people enraged with your behavior...Your girl just kena rob before this.
You will for sure get the bad punishment when the time comes...At that time,no one will even offer to help you... May Allah give the full lesson to you...

 
Farzana Zamry: Ur trick wont make me sceptical to my chinese friend. This doesnt work. I think both of u have some sort of mental illness. Btw tanjung rambutan is ready for u.

Mohd Azrul : Dear Alvin & Vivian, we hope that you will regret for this. As we respect Chinese culture and religion, please do the same thing to us.Well we do understand Buddhist dont eat beef as for their religion, please understand that the sensitivity of muslims. We dont force you to eat beef or make fun of it! we respect! I have Chinese friends too and they are ashamed of what you did. ALL OF US do!

Choi Khiat Ong: Please respect my Muslim friends ! I am ashamed of you two! Put them into jail!

In a phone interview with The Star Online, Tan said he was 'just curious to see how people would perceive it".

On whether he regretted putting up the 'greeting', Tan had reportedly said “not yet...”.

“Yeah, in a way. I don't know. I was just curious to see how people will perceive it. It seems not everybody is on the same page as us. It is dark humour. It is just our attempt to see how it will be perceived.  It is just trying to be humorous on the matter,” he was quoted as saying.

Tan, a former law scholar at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Lee became one of the biggest media sensations last year when their ‘sex-blog’ containing their naked photos and videos of their multiple romps, went viral in Singapore and Malaysia.

READ: MCA blasts duo for giving 'free show'
READ: Lee: Malaysian women are 'sexually repressed'
READ: Bloggers hog media limelight

 
Despite Tan facing the risk of losing his scholarship and Lee, her relationship with her family, the duo latched on to the media obsession by giving endless interviews and turning themselves into self-proclaimed ‘sex gurus’.

In January, the pair launched a YouTube channel called ‘Sexcussions’ to dish out advice on sex.