Upin & Ipin releases character's apology video following netizens demand

Les' Copaque Production, the creators of Malaysian TV series Upin & Ipin, has gotten its character Fizi to make a public apology in its newest episode. This comes after the character received heavy criticism for his previous comment during a recent Hari Raya-related episode, during which Fizi said there is no heaven for children without mothers.

In a video titled "Upin & Ipin: Fizi minta maaf", which was posted on Les' Copaque Production's YouTube page, Fizi apologised to main characters, Upin and Ipin, for his insensitive comment while in tears. That said, the video ended on a good note, where Upin and Ipin accepted Fizi's apology. The video has garnered 5,632,557 views on YouTube at the time of writing.

Les' Copaque Production also posted Fizi's apology on its Instagram, accompanied with a caption in Malay which loosely translates to "Fizi is sorry. Upin and Ipin have forgiven Fizi. Hope everyone else can forgive him too."

Fizi's apology has seemingly appeased the masses, with several netizens assuring Fizi that "it is okay" in their comments. One particular netizen commented on the YouTube video that he would like to apologise on behalf of Indonesian netizens as well because of their reactions to Fizi's previous comment. "We know that you said it by accident, and we also apologise to Fizi," the netizen said in Bahasa Indonesia. Another netizen also said they are aware that Fizi is only following a script, and apologise for the scathing comments of netizens regarding his previous comment. 

Additionally, some netizens applauded the production house for this follow-up episode, with one who said "Les' Copaque is the best" and another who said the apology was a smart move for the Upin & Ipin marketing team. Both comments have received more than 50 likes, which showed netizens' approval for the creators' latest move.

This apology came after its previous episode where Fizi said there is no heaven for children who do not have mothers. In the TV series, Upin and Ipin are orphans who live with their grandmother and older sister. Fizi's comment had netizens riled up as they called for a clarification for his statement. In response, Les' Copaque Production took to Instagram saying that if requested by more netizens, Fizi will create a video apologising to Upin and Ipin.

Upin & Ipin is a 3D-animated series produced by Les’ Copaque Production and is currently receiving an average of approximately 800,000 viewers per episode, according to its official website. The series centres on a pair of five-year-old twin boys, Upin and Ipin, who tell stories of their everyday lives with their friends while learning new things during their day to day activities.

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