KUALA LUMPUR: Netizens today were up in arms over an apparently discriminatory message against Muslims by a guesthouse in Malacca.
The nasty message prompted short-term accommodation site Airbnb to remind property owners to not discriminate against patrons based on their religion.
The incident began when a user from Brunei Darussalam, Dinie Hamizan, allegedly sent a query about payment and directions to reach the Raymonds Boutique Travellers Home in Malacca via Airbnb.
However, Dinie claimed his query was met by a shocking reply by the guesthouse's online representative.
"I was asking him politely regarding his guesthouse and shockingly, the first reply from him was 'NO MUSLIM IN MY HOUSE'," wrote Dinie in a complaint to Airbnb on their Facebook page.
Dinie said he wished that the owner had been more polite, adding that he did not expect such a rude encounter at his first try using Airbnb.
Dinie posted a screenshot of the online exchange between him and the guesthouse owner, in which one of the messages read, "... find a Muslim home dont disturb our homes... People are afraid of you."
Airbnb promptly responded to Hamizan's posting, citing that the site does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.
The company also requested more details on the incident. The response ended with a link suggestion for Hamizan to check the site's policy against discrimination.
Airbnb's anti-discrimination policy cites that the site observes laws preventing discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation or age.