Radio DJs who pranked a man who was performing nazar (a promise or tribute made to a higher power) after going through a difficult and painful time in his life are feeling the full wrath of the internet after the man’s friend made their actions known via a viral Facebook post.
Zairi bin Zainal had pledged to cycle to 320 mosques around peninsular Malaysia and give any donations he received to charity.
According to Dzul Affandi Roslan, Zairi’s friend, he was doing just that when he received a phone call from the DJs at Hot FM. They promised him that they would sponsor the entirety of his journey. Believing the call to be genuine, Zairi was overcome with emotion when he heard that he would have a substantial donation from the national radio station, Dzul wrote.
However, Zairi’s joy was short-lived. As the phone call went on, the nature of the call became obvious – they were simply joking with a man on a spiritual journey, and had no intention of donating to his endeavor. Here’s the audio of the call:
In a post that has been shared over 1,500 times, many were shocked that the station would use nazar as a source of entertainment.
Plot twist: Our story has a happy ending.
This morning, Zairi posted a follow-up on his Facebook, telling his followers not to direct anymore ire at Hot FM. Was it a tasteless call? Yes. Was it not funny, like – at all? Well, they never are.
He wrote that the exposure of their ill-played stunt had resulted in dozens of genuine donations from people across Malaysia wanting to support his journey.
In an ultimate lemons-to-lemonade (and serious PR spin), Hot FM have asked Zainal to come on their show tomorrow morning. If they have half a clue, they’ll be making a substantial donation themselves.
If you’d like to donate, meanwhile, you can do so here.
And there you have it, all’s well that ends well.
Zairi, we hope that you complete your journey safely.
Hot FM – hey … all radio stations who still think that prank calls are LOL – newsflash: They’re not. The Jerky Boys called, and they want their MO sent back to the ’90s, where it belongs.
