Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing today urged Umno leaders to restrain party youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh over his continued boycott calls against convenience store KK Mart.
Tiong (above) said Akmal was stoking racial tensions by continuously playing up the controversy which began with the sale of socks bearing the word Allah.
“Umno Youth chief Akmal shouldn't ride on the issue for personal political gains that in the end would only damage harmony among the country’s multicultural people.
“The company not only apologised immediately, but in fact, acted swiftly to remove the product from their shelves in all their stores. As such all parties shouldn't add fuel to the fire and instead let KK Mart make amends,” said Tiong on Facebook.
He went on to ask Umno leaders to rein in Akmal over the matter.
“With great hope, I urge the Umno leadership to view this matter seriously and prevent Akmal from using the party’s youth wing as a platform to serve his personal agenda,” added Tiong.
‘Arrogant and excessive attitude’
The Progressive Democratic Party president said he was concerned that if senior Umno leaders do not pay attention to Akmal’s behaviour and attitude this would result in the people continuing to have a negative view of Umno.
“It is not impossible that Umno will continue to be rejected by the people who love peace, unity and thirst for mature politics.
“I also urge Malacca Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh to act firmly against the arrogance and excessive attitude of Akmal who is also a Malacca state exco,” said Tiong who added that Akmal was only “adding fuel to the fire” by calling on the country’s Muslims to boycott the popular convenience store chain.
This controversy surfaced last week when images of the Miranosock socks being sold at a KK Mart outlet in Bandar Sunway went viral on social media.
Following the uproar, KK Mart issued an apology to all its customers, particularly the Muslim community, and confirmed that immediate actions had been taken to halt the sale of the socks.
Akmal has been vocal about the issue, urging for a boycott against KK Mart should the chain fail to display banners apologising for the incident. He also urged the public to make police reports on the matter.
Earlier, a police search at a Batu Pahat factory alleged to be the producer of socks printed with the word Allah yielded only five pairs, which were the ones KK Mart previously returned from its outlet in Bandar Sunway.
The five pairs have been seized for investigation and the case is being probed under Section 98A of the Penal Code, Section 505 of the same Code for causing public mischief, and Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. - Mkini
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