Hugging a K-Pop star is far worse than hugging a dog, said Multaqa Asatizah dan Pendakwah Malaysia (Murshid) president Zaharuddin Abdul Rahman, after a video clip of a Korean boy band embracing several tudung-clad fans went viral yesterday.

Referring to the ‘I Want to Touch a Dog’ event that received massive flak last year, he said that the act of Korean artists, who were hugging and kissing tudung-clad girls during a fanmeet, was far more shocking than merely hugging dogs.

Zaharuddin ( left ) added that this kind of behaviour showed “true liberalism, or even worse than being liberal,” Sinar Harian reported today.

However, he urged social media users to advise the girls involved to help them repent, instead of insulting or poking fun of them.

A video of K-Pop group B1A4 members embracing the girls had been uploaded on YouTube by RajaLawak.com last night and was shared on Sukan Star TV's Facebook page this morning.

The video was titled, 'Malay girls molested on stage by Kpop band B1A4'.

In the video, the boy band was seen interacting with four tudung-clad girls and its members subsequently hugged them during the fan meeting event held at the KL Live Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

A band member also kissed one of the girls on the forehead.

Organisers apologise

Meanwhile, concert organiser TGM Events took a swipe at the media for propagating the video clip, and accusing the organisers of condoning sexual harassment.

“We do not, and never will, condone molestation or sexual harassment as alleged by media outlets. The terminology used was taken out of context and it is extremely disappointing to us to witness an act of such irresponsible journalism,” the company posted on Facebook .

The event management group also apologised to the artistes and fans, saying it would weigh in cultural and religious factors before holding any future events.

“We apologise in all sincerity for the problems caused to the artistes and their fans caused by these reports.

“In future events, we will take into consideration the cultural and religious implications of the interaction between fans and artistes,” the organisers posted.

The event management group also apologised for the uproar that broke out from the incident, and said it would take cultural factors into consideration for future events.

TGM Events added that in no way did it intend for the tudung-clad girls to be hugged and kissed by the K-Pop members, as the fans were randomly chosen and prior warning had already been given to the fans, on touching the artistes.

Of K-Pop, Israeli spies and Christians

'K-Pop fiasco is why Islam forbids such concerts'