Ball in Akmal’s court but UMNO Youth head honcho seems reluctant to heed the Agong’s final warning

 

SO, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim King of Malaysia has decreed a final warning that all forms of incitement and instigation pertaining to the Allah inscription on socks controversy must stop with immediate effect.

This comes about after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) granted an audience today (April 3) to the founder of KK Super Mart Datuk Seri Dr Chai Kee Kan who apologised to Sultan Ibrahim and Malaysian Muslims over the incident.

“All parties must be more responsible. Don’t let this incident reoccur,” decreed His Majesty in a Facebook post after a 15-minute encounter with Chai. “Once again, I warn all parties against taking advantage of the matter, including inciting the rakyat. I do not want this issue to prolong any further.”

But recalcitrant or otherwise, UMNO Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has reacted to the Agong’s directive with the following remarks on his Facebook page:

Leaders need to carry the voice of the people without fear.
The people have made their decisions without any coercion.
Keep calm and continue the peaceful boycott.
Stay principled.

Judging from what the Merlimau state assemblyman has penned on the social media, one wonders if the call to continue the nationwide boycott of 881 KK Super Mart outlets is by any means being disrespectful to the Agong or an act of lèse-majesté in nature.

For the uninitiated, lèse-majesté – alth0ugh is not legally-binding in Malaysia – is a crime according to Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. It is therefore illegal to defame, insult or threaten the Thai monarch (king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive or regent).

Meanwhile, UMNO has instructed Dr Akmal to stop discussing the controversial socks issue, according to Sabah UMNO chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

The Star quoting the Kinabatangan MP said it had been revealed that KK Super Mart owners had no control over the supply and had publicly apologised over the incident.

“It is not a matter of whether we agree or disagree with Dr Akmal. UMNO has already directed him to stop during a recent meeting,” Bung said when asked if Sabah UMNO agreed with Dr Akmal’s stance.

Recall that party’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (who was Dr Akmal’s predecessor himself) had gone on record to state that the UMNO supreme council which met on March 22 had unanimously agreed to support the actions of its youth wing head on the damning sock issue.

This is despite Akmal drawing flak from various quarters over the matter over his persistent call for a boycott of KK Mart convenience stores. – Focus Malaysia