A university’s social media promotion of a course on pig rearing has thrust the playful use of a loaded term into the spotlight
It all began when Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Sarawak campus, located in Malaysian Borneo, promoted a one-day course aimed at educating participants about pig rearing. The course advertisement, featuring a cute piglet, quickly ricocheted across Malaysian social media, drawing both laughter and pointed cultural commentary.
In Malay, babi is a loaded term, often used to disparage those deemed rude or arrogant. Its sting is sharpened by religious sensitivities: for Malaysia’s predominantly Malay-Muslim population, pigs are considered haram, or forbidden, under Islamic law.
Yet pork remains a staple for the country’s sizeable ethnic Chinese community and non-Muslim groups, making the animal somewhat divisive.
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