Backlash earned by lavish dog ‘wedding’ in Indonesia worth P729,000
INDONESIA – A lavish dog “wedding” at a mall in Jakarta worth 200 million rupiah ($13,350 or approximately 729,000 Philippine pesos) earned a backlash.
On Friday, two Alaskan Malamutes “tied the knot” in Indonesia, a middle-income country, where wealth distribution is one of the most unequal in the world. The dogs donned traditional Javanese costumes alongside their owners and relatives at a fake ceremony. However, the ceremony earned backlash from netizens for being too extravagant.
This prompted the owners to apologize. Indira Ratnasari, owner of female dog Luna, said: “We regret it very much and we would like to apologize to the Javanese culture enthusiasts and all Indonesians who were uncomfortable and hurt by the event.” She added: “We had no intention to insult the Indonesian and the Javanese culture.” On the other hand, Valentine Cahandra, owner of the male dog Jojo, claimed the wedding happened to promote Javanese culture.
Meanwhile, in the fourth-most populous country, showing off wealth is strongly disapproved of and receives criticism due to the increasing income inequality. Jakarta’s minimum monthly wage is 4.9 million rupiah ($327), and almost 10% of the country’s 270 million people still live in poverty according to the World Bank’s report last year.
Local media mentioned that Ratnasari is a staff member of the Indonesian presidential office. According to Khaleej Times, in March, President Joko Widodo advised public officials not to display their lavish lifestyles in inappropriate manners, such as posting on social media.
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