‘Bully’ Akmal won’t dare go after China, says academic

 

Academic Tajuddin Rasdi says Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh is taking advantage of the controversy surrounding the sale of socks with the word ‘Allah’. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An academic says Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh will not go to the extent of pursuing an apology from China regarding the “Allah” socks issue despite calling for a boycott of convenience chain store KK Mart over the matter.

Speaking to FMT, Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University said Akmal was unlikely to summon the Chinese ambassador following a challenge by Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau for him to demand an apology from China for allowing the manufacturer to produce the socks.

“A bully will always pick on a smaller person,” Tajuddin said.

“He may continue to dwell on the issue because he doesn’t care about the future consequences or the welfare of (KK Mart’s) workers.

“That’s no longer just being a bully; that’s being an opportunist.”

In a statement yesterday, Tangau said Akmal should press foreign minister and Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan to summon China’s ambassador for an explanation if Malaysia does not get a satisfactory answer.

He also said that Akmal’s response was akin to “grasping at straws” in an attempt to win support and popularity for himself and the party as a whole.

“This is simply an exercise in sacrificing 5,000 jobs to be noticed and for Umno to be popular with the Malays once again,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Sungai Benut MP Tawfik Ismail said Akmal’s hypothetical summoning of the ambassador would tarnish Malaysia’s reputation.

“It would make us look ridiculous. The whole thing would make us look rather shallow and narrow-minded,” he said.

He said Tangau’s comments merely highlighted a potential situation where the youth leader would demand explanations from all parties involved in the sale of the socks, from the manufacturer to the salesman.

“What he’s trying to say is, ‘What would happen if Akmal goes after everybody along the supply chain, all the way up to the factory in China?’,” he said.

The former MP added that if such action were to be taken against all parties involved, it would affect mainly Malay Muslims.

“Don’t forget that when the socks were produced and brought into Malaysia, they had to go through customs. Why doesn’t he go for the customs officer that allowed the socks to come through?” he said.

“After all, those customs officers are Malay Muslims. Are you going to blame them as well for what happened?” - FMT