Former child actors in a 2007 Petronas National Day advertisement, Ummi Khazriena (left) and Tan Hong Ming are pictured in a recent photograph. — Picture courtesy of Sukan Star TV’s Facebook page.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — A Malaysian blogger’s recent post of a picture of two former child actors in a 2007 Petronas National Day advertisement, now grown up, has sparked a fire online after Facebook users took to acting as moral police over the female protagonist’s body.

A significant number of the commenters on the social network had zoomed in on the grown-up Ummi Khazriena’s voluptuous body in the photo of her reunion with fellow former child actor Tan Hong Ming, making sexual innuendoes on how “big” she looks now.

“Hhahahaha ni trbaik...betoi jgk kdg2 pikir.baik ye kecik, trsembunyi..besar dh xtrsembunyi..org nampak org tgk. Akan jadi gangguan sexual kpd laki2…” Facebook user, Asmar Mie wrote sarcastically.

[Translation: Hhahahaha this is great...it’s true when you think about it. It’s better if it’s small, hidden..when it’s big it cannot be hidden..people will see, people will look. It’ll be sexually distracting to men.]

In response to the lascivious comments, some Facebook users called on their peers to be mindful of their remarks, saying it bordered on sexual harassment.

“Sedar x sedar banyak giler komen yang ke arah gangguan seksual kat sini. Nampak betapa rmainya mengalami keruntuhan akhlak dari segi lisan. Yg tak menutup aurat memang dh salah. Tapi yg komen melampau ttg kopek besar tu dah tentu berdosa juga.. insaflah wei.” said Iza Yanti.

[Translation: Are you even aware of the number of comments here that are bordering on sexual harassment? See all whose depravity is revealed by their remarks. Those who don’t cover their bodies are wrong. But those who go overboard with comments about the size of the breasts have similarly sinned… please repent]

Such remarks however put some male commenters on the defensive.

“Kalo ko tak tunjuk, orang pun tak tengok. Ko yg gatai tunjuk, orang pun gatai tengok. Benda simple je,” Nik Hakim commented.

[Translated: If you hadn’t shown them, no one would have seen them. You were itchy enough to show them, so naturally people will look. It’s simple]

The sexual responses also took on a decidedly religious tone, which prompted one of the most popular comments on the page.

“Dulu masa kopek die kecik dia pakai baju beso, lenim kopek die beso dia pakai baju ketat, Ya Allah, Ya Tuhan, kecikkanlah balik kopek dia,” Syukrie Ayob wrote in response on the Facebook page of blogger Sukan Star TV.

[Translation: When her breasts were smaller, she wore baggy clothes but when they grew, she put on tighter clothes. O Allah, O God, make her breasts smaller again]

His remark drew 1,438 “likes” at the time of writing since the post was uploaded yesterday, while the original post by Sukan Star TV has been shared over 900 times.

Ummi Khazriena — identified as Umi Qazrina in the video — was seven years old when she first gained fame in the 2007 Petronas National Day directed by the late Yasmin Ahmad. She is now 15 years old.

This is not the first time Malay-Muslim women here have been faced with a moral backlash over their choice of dressing after pictures of them were uploaded on the Internet.

Johor princess Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah closed her Instagram and other social media accounts early this month after receiving criticism for not wearing a headscarf.

Local daily The Star reported Tunku Aminah as saying that she made the decision to quit all social media after getting advice from her parents who were worried about her well-being and safety.

Other Malay-Muslim women have received brickbats on social media for not covering their hair or for wearing clothes deemed improper, including medal-winning gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi and recently, Bank Negara scholarship winner Hajar Nur Asyiqin Abdul Zubir.