Astro, comedy group say sorry over cross-dressing

Kuala Lumpur: Satellite television operator Astro and a comedy group has apologised to the Iban community over a reality show segment featuring a male performer wearing Iban women's traditional dress.Norzeha Mohd Salleh, Manager of the Astro Warna channel that aired the popular comedy contest, explained that the performance was meant to showcase Sarawak's culture and not to offend the Iban community.

"On behalf of Maharaja Lawak Mega, we wish to apologise to all who were affected, particularly the Iban community, over the Zero group's performance in the first week of the programme (Maharaja Lawak Mega 2017).

"The performance that was intended to highlight the uniqueness of Sarawak's dance and the art of sumpit (blowpipe) was affected due to insensitivity relating to the traditional culture of the Iban tribe," she said in a Malay-language statement on Wednesday that was made available to Malay Mail Online upon an enquiry Thursday.

"We view this matter seriously and will be more sensitive towards each performance that will be shown on the stage of Maharaja Lawak Mega," she added, before thanking viewers for their support.

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Astro also shared the apology today by comedy group Zero, which is formed by a trio of brothers from Sabah.

"We, the Zero group, humbly wish to apologise to the Iban community for crossing the line in our performance onstage Maharaja Lawak Mega last week.

"Honestly, we did not have any intentions at all to mock or hurt the feelings of any race, especially the Iban community. However, we admit our oversight in this matter," the group said in the Malay-language statement.

"We will take this as a lesson and be more sensitive to the content of performances that will be delivered so that such matters will not happen again in the future," the group added.

In a video posted on Maharaja Lawak Mega's Facebook page this afternoon, the Zero trio were also seen making a similar apology where they sought for forgiveness and asked for continued support, ending with the words "We love Sarawak".

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Dayak groups in Sarawak have voiced displeasure at the Zero group's performance last Friday which they found to be offensive towards the Iban community, with three police reports said to have been lodged as of yesterday.

The Dayak natives of Sarawak have also urged Astro and Zero to apologise over the incident and to not repeat their actions.

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