Malaysian tourists mocked Chinese locals as ‘smelly’ — now they’re facing backlash online

MALAYSIA: A video of a group of Malaysian tourists in China has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, with the tourists now facing heavy backlash online over their comments about Chinese citizens.

The criticism is not just coming from regular internet users. Several prominent local figures have also weighed in on the controversy, publicly condemning the tourists’ behaviour and remarks made during their trip to China.

In a Facebook post, activist Siti Kasim said the behaviour portrayed by the tourists is indeed deeply disappointing and embarrassing.

A few days ago, comedian Harith Iskander also weighed in on the growing backlash against the group of Malaysian tourists accused of mocking locals overseas. He said the incident reflects a deeper shift in how people perceive shame and validation in the age of social media.

The group of Malaysian tourists are accused of filming strangers and mocking locals in China as “smelly.”

The clips, which also appeared to show the visitors shouting insults in Malay while travelling in the country, were allegedly first posted on TikTok by a user with the handle @ekyn.wong.

They were later deleted from the account but not before the video went viral on Malaysian social media.

In the video, a Malaysian is heard saying that some citizens of the country they visited, that is China, were smelly. The shot was taken while the person was sitting in a cab driven by a Chinese man.

The tourist then said, ‘not this driver,’ whom she said is not smelly but smells good because they apparently used perfumes.

As for Siti Kasim, she said, “If the words and actions shown are accurate, making disparaging remarks about local people while travelling in another country is disrespectful and shows a lack of basic courtesy.” She argued that when travelling, people not only represent themselves but also the image of their countries and communities.

“Mocking, insulting, or belittling local people is not humour; it reflects poor manners and a lack of respect. For Muslims especially, we should remember that good character (akhlak) is a fundamental part of faith.”

She said respect, humility, and kindness are not selective values — they apply whether “we are at home or abroad, whether we agree with someone or not.”

Iskander, in a strongly worded response, said the act of recording and sharing such content suggested a conscious decision.

“It means they watched the video back and still thought, ‘yes, this is the best version of myself,’” he said, pointing to what he described as a worrying lack of self-awareness. He said moments of immaturity and poor judgment were not uncommon in the past—but were typically accompanied by embarrassment.

“We all had our foolish moments growing up. The biggest fear back then was that no one would find out,” he said. “Now, people are doing the opposite—recording it, uploading it, and waiting for likes.”

On the other hand, he questioned whether social media has fundamentally altered society’s relationship with shame.

“Do they think people will agree? Applaud them? That others will say, ‘wow, how brave to insult strangers in a foreign country?’”

“Perhaps they’ve lived too long within their own circles, where laughter from friends is mistaken for endorsement,” he said.