A newly opened shopping centre in Malaysia has reversed an attempt to brand its indoor space as pet-friendly after an online backlash, a reaction that underscores the sensitivities around dogs in public spaces in the Muslim-majority country.
Sunway Square Mall in Selangor, which opened on December 12, said on Thursday that pets are banned from its enclosed retail areas. Instead, pets are allowed at a designated outdoor zone and supervised routes through a car park in the mall’s basement.
The move comes after photos and videos of a dog being wheeled through the mall in a trolley circulated online.
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The mall previously promoted itself as Malaysia’s first indoor pet-friendly shopping centre, a claim that quickly drew criticism, particularly from some Muslim shoppers, for whom dogs are considered najis – a term in Islamic jurisprudence referring to ritual impurity.
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For observant Muslims, contact with dogs requires specific cleansing rituals before prayers, making their presence in shared indoor spaces a sensitive issue.
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Selangor local government and tourism committee chairman Ng Suee Lim said the state’s long-standing policy banning pets inside malls remained in force.