Amla in another controversy

South Africa’s Hashim Amla, who last week was part of a controversy that involved Dean Jones calling the devout muslim, who keeps a prominent beard, a “terrorist” on TV, is in the news again, for reasons he wouldn’t want to be.

Copy Type Electronics, a Johannesburg-based electronics company that distributes Toshiba products, displayed an advertising hoarding on a national highway that said: “Thank goodness Amla didn’t face a coolie kreeper.” The term “coolie” was used earlier by South African white racist elements for a person of Indian origin. The word itself is now banned from usage.

Following the ruckus that was created as a result of the ad, the company has removed the advertisement board, explaining that it was put up by an employee without the consent of the company, and also apologized to Amla for the unfortunate event.

Graham Lane, a spokesman for the company, said, “We apologize for any offence it could have caused. It is not our policy or intention to harm any ethnic group, faith or individual. The necessary steps are being taken to prevent a similar incident in future.”

Meanwhile, members of the South African team have denied Allan Border’s claim that they call Amla by the nickname “terrorist”. The Australian great had said that Jones’s comment on TV, that resulted in him being banned from the commentary team for the forthcoming tri-series, was just a joke, like what Amla’s team-mates do themselves.