Consider non-Muslims' feelings if you want respect, ex-PM tells Muslims

Former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has stressed the need for mutual respect between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country.

This was important, he said, as it could prevent incidents such as the “Allah” socks controversy from happening again.

“We (Muslims) can’t expect the others (non-Muslims) to respect us. We must respect them too and put ourselves in their shoes sometimes,” he said in an interview with FMT.

The Bera MP said that when it comes to religious matters, all faiths should be respected.

He added that if the controversial socks bore the images of a deity or other gods, non-Muslims would not have compromised either.

“We need to tread carefully when it comes to religious matters,” Ismail stated, adding the government must keep tabs on the issue to prevent copycat attacks in the future.

The socks controversy surrounding KK Mart has led to prolonged tensions among Malaysians.

It has also led to firebombing attempts at three of its outlets – namely in Perak, Pahang and Sarawak.

Ismail Sabri’s remarks are a departure from his past political stances which had courted controversy.

In 2015, as the then agriculture minister, he had urged Malays to shun Chinese businesses to compel them to lower their prices.

"The majority of consumers are Malays. The Chinese are the minority. If the Malays boycott their businesses, they will have no choice but to reduce prices.

"As long as Malays don't change, the Chinese will take advantage and oppress the Malays," he was reported as saying then.

Ismail Sabri later defended his remarks saying it would benefit Chinese consumers as well, before clarifying that his boycott call was only meant to target "stubborn Chinese traders".

Mara Digital

Later that year, when he took over the rural and regional development portfolio, Ismail moved to create a “Low Yat 2”, specifically to help only Malay traders.

This came after a phone theft incident at the Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, which later turned into a racially charged fiasco.

Back then, Ismail Sabri denied that his proposed mall - later named Mara Digital - was racist, saying that he was only looking out for the Malays.

While the concept did take off for a while, two Mara Digital in Kuantan and Johor Bahru closed in 2018 and 2019, respectively due to poor sales. - Mkini