KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — BIG Pharmacy has apologised for a racially insensitive promotional video that has been making rounds on social media.

The pharmacy chain came under fire after social media user @tgwtst flagged the video on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.

The video featured a social media influencer imitating an Indian accent and ridiculing the traditional Indian 'pottu', worn as a religious symbol by Hindus.

The video, which was initially shared by the influencer, has since been removed following public outrage.

“We recognise the hurtful and offensive nature of this content and claim full responsibility for our lack of due diligence,” said the pharmacy's management in a statement.

“We are, and have always been, committed to inclusion and respect.

“The mistake is one that we take seriously, will learn from, and improve as we serve all members of our community."

The blunder did not go down well with netizens.

X user @toffeefamily posted: “(I’m) not an Indian but a Chinese and I find this disgusting and racist to the core..There are many ways to get some clicks, this is definitely not one of them.”

Meanwhile, @MindMechanicxyz questioned how BIG Pharmacy's production team green-lighted the advertisement video.

“(I’m) really surprised how multiple people said YES let’s make this ad and degrade one of the most important aspects of a religion to sell Panadol,” they posted.