It has been reported that hundreds of millions of won worth of precious metals and cars were given as birthday gifts, leading to criticism from Internet users.
According to Malaysian media MustShare News, Farhana Zara, who runs an online channel related to beauty and health supplements, recently held a large-scale party for her first daughter’s 11th birthday. Zara drew attention by posting a video of the party on her SNS.
In the video, Zara enters the party along the golden stairs holding hands of her two daughters, followed by her husband with his youngest daughter in his arms. The children were wearing a black dress and a crown decorated with jewels.
At the outdoor party, Zara walked to the stage to sing happy birthday song and present gifts to the audience. The presents included an Apple iMac, Rolex watch, and a seven-seater Toyota car.
The video has now garnered more than 2.4 million views, making headlines. Other birthday videos have also garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
The controversy was sparked by a post left by Zara.
Zara wrote in the video, “Forgive me mom. “This was the best I could give her,” she wrote. “I spent only 1 million ringgit on her birthday.” Such expressions were seen as excessive show-off of assets, sparking criticism.
On social media, negative reactions such as “an event for yourself, not your daughter,” “It’s not realistic to give a car to a child who can’t even drive,” and “A person who is drunk on luxury is wrapping love.”
On the other hand, there were some advocacy opinions such as “You may want to do as much as possible as a parent” and “Use a lot if you earn a lot.”
Zara has been under similar controversy in the past. She was known to have given a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon to her second daughter on her birthday last year, and released a video of her withdrawing a large amount of cash from a bank in 2022 ahead of Islam’s biggest holiday, Hari Raya, which was criticized as an “inappropriate display of assets at a time of good health.”
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
