How one woman got a sexist Malaysian billboard taken down – and how to stop more from appearing

KUALA LUMPUR – If you are a Malaysian driving back to your home town this Hari Raya, it would be hard to miss the plethora of catchy billboards dotting the miles of highways across Peninsular Malaysia.

In between the light-hearted advertisements, however, some of these billboards have got on the nerves of many for using what may be deemed as misogynistic and sexist language – from skincare products playing on skin-colour sensitivities to healthcare supplements laced with sexual innuendoes.

For Malaysian paediatrician Ayne Zarof, one such billboard angered her so much years ago that she pushed for it to be taken down – and she actually succeeded after lodging a complaint with watchdog Advertising Standards Malaysia (ASA).

“So, I went through ASA, and it was a quick and straightforward process,” Dr Ayne, who now works in the United Kingdom, relayed to The Straits Times.

The billboard in question promoted a skin brightening serum with the tagline calling it “the cause for polygamy”, depicting a man in Malay traditional wedding attire shielding his eyes with sunglasses from the serum’s glare.

“It does not only make a joke about polygamy but also reduces women to objects,” she said in an Instagram post back then. “It insinuates that women attract other people’s husbands.”

In Malaysia, Muslim men may marry up to four wives under syariah law with the approval of the Syariah Court, although the practice remains controversial in society.

Admitting that she had little hope anything would be done, Dr Ayne told ST she was surprised when the offending ad was taken down two weeks later. ASA had ruled that the ad breached the Malaysian Code of Advertising Practice for being offensive and derogatory.

“I was hoping that with my video on social media, others could help clean up our streets,” she added about her post, which had gone viral in January 2026.

In the video, Dr Ayne said the billboard incident, which she said made her feel “nauseous and angry”, happened several years ago, but she decided to share her experience recently, in light of the murder of 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen, who was stabbed to death in October 2025 by her 14-year-old male schoolmate.

The murder prompted a nationwide conversation about misogyny and violence against women.

“It’s clear that our society and the world still have misogynistic views on women,” she said.

Dr Ayne said she had first contacted the company behind the ad, saying there had to be a better way to promote its product, but she was directed from person to person, all of whom denied responsibility for the ad.

Despite her experience, the situation does not appear to have improved, even years later.

In February 2026, language researcher Miriam Devaprasana shared photos of promotional posters by pay-TV platform Astro in a light rail transit (LRT) coach in Kuala Lumpur, which took what she said was a misogynistic tone to promote a drama series.

Among them were Malay captions that can be translated to “there is no use for a wife to be beautiful but disobedient to her husband” and “wives who deny their husband sex fall into sin and are far from paradise”.

Ms Miriam said it was disappointing that Astro, LRT operator RapidKL and the drama’s producers chose to amplify such messages, saying they crossed the line from marketing into normalising harmful ideas. “If these advertisements are intended to generate traction for the show, they do so at a serious social cost,” she said in a Facebook post.

“Using public infrastructure to circulate such messages risks undermining decades of sustained, hard-won efforts by advocates, activists, educators and communities working towards real, tangible change around gender equity,” she added.

Astro responded by issuing a statement on its website saying the ads had since been removed, and adding that it did not endorse the views and that the campaign was intended to highlight stereotypes explored in the drama series.

“We recognise that presenting them in a public setting without full context may have led to unintended interpretations and we apologise unreservedly for any resulting misunderstanding,” the broadcaster said.

What can Malaysians do?

The proliferation of illegal advertising boards, however, makes enforcement of standards difficult.

News reports said the Nilai municipal council identified more than 450 illegal billboards along the North-South Expressway in 2019. The neighbouring Seremban city council reported over 200 along the same stretch of highway in 2024.

In Petaling Jaya, Mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon personally climbed onto a skylift in September 2025 to take down an illegal billboard along the federal highway after its owner failed to remove it despite being issued a notice to do so. Even after billboard’s electricity supply was cut, its operator switched to using a generator and later, solar panels.

Speaking to ST, watchdog Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia’s chief executive Mediha Mahmood urged Malaysians to lodge complaints with industry regulatory agencies like itself and ASA, since this often leads to practical outcomes like takedowns. The complaints can be made online, either on the ASA website or Content Forum’s website.

“Content may be corrected, removed or contextualised, and in many cases the process encourages content providers to reflect on their practices and improve standards across the industry,” Ms Mediha said.

While ASA oversees static advertising, Content Forum oversees digital content including digital billboards, along with TV, radio and online content.

“Because we operate as a self-regulatory body, we can engage directly with content providers and often resolve issues through corrections, removal or clarification without a lengthy enforcement process,” Ms Mediha said.

This contrasts with complaints to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the country’s legal regulatory commission, where the process can be more time-consuming and intimidating.

“From a public perspective, the advantage is that it offers a channel that is less intimidating than a formal complaint process, while still being connected to the broader regulatory system,” Ms Mediha said.