The controversial socks with the word Allah have practically damaged the KK Mart brand, from being a household name to becoming the target of hatred attacks.
Despite its founder having openly apologised to Muslims over the issue and explained that it was only a mistake by its vendor, the move did not do much to help save it from a widespread boycott campaign propelled by certain politicians.
But in such an unforeseeable crisis, could the convenience store chain have handled the situation better? An expert in crisis communications believes so.
“One ‘mistake’, although a mistake, was used by a group of interest to gain some traction for their cause.
“There are some steps that any crisis manager would have taken to minimise the impact and show remorse in implementing more measures to prevent situations like this from happening again in the future.
“From the first instant that KK Mart knew about the situation, they should have informed the respective authorities and taken action against the supplier who made the mistake,” senior communications lecturer Roberto Calleja told Malaysiakini.
While noting that KK Mart founder Chai Kee Kan did hold a press conference to address the matter on March 16, he believed that it should have been done much sooner.
By doing it three days after the socks were discovered, it looked like the company was only reacting to the matter instead of being proactive in solving the issue, he said.
“In the current world of communication, three days is a very long time for the vacuum of information from the organisation to be filled and fuelled by certain interested quarters.”
Preventing vacuums of info
According to Calleja, taking immediate action against the supplier did not mean KK Mart was trying to wash their hands off of the issue.
Rather, the Mexican said, such a move would offer an assurance to the affected group that KK Mart is committed to the higher standards of operations.
The company management should have also carried out direct engagement with the affected group, in this case, Muslims, and those leading the campaigns against them.
“KK Mart should have shown immediate remorse and come out with a clear statement and action across all branches, not just the one that got in trouble.
“Together with the remorse, it could have highlighted the actions implemented and the steps taken to address the matter directly.
“Moreover, KK Mart should have contacted different organisations within the affected community to gather all parties involved and show the measures taken and steps implemented,” said Calleja, who is also a former journalist.
He said it is important for crisis managers to prevent vacuums of information when dealing with a problem.
Despite the error, he said managers should find ways to offer guarantees to the affected groups that lessons were learnt from the experience.
KK Mart also should not respond directly to statements made by different actors of the society, Calleja said, as it would only inflame adverse sentiments.
“The ultimate olive branch offering would be that the supermarket and the main actor in this saga come together in the most profound spirit of the season to involve the employees and the people affected to sit together and share a meal.
“If the main actor of this saga is not willing to do so, then the best would be to find other prominent members of the affected community to join, as it has been visible that there are more prominent members who have spoken about it,” he said.
Controversy
The controversy erupted three weeks ago when pictures of socks bearing the word Allah being sold at a KK Mart outlet in Bandar Sunway went viral on social media.
Mass police reports were lodged following initial police inaction.
One of those spearheading the police report campaign was Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
Both KK Mart and Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd apologised for the incident and alleged it was due to oversight.
The founder of the KK Mart convenience store chain, Chai, and his wife Loh Siew Mui, have been charged with intentionally hurting the feelings of Muslims at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.
Three others, who are directors of Xing Jian Chang - the company that supplied socks to the convenience stores, were also charged at the same court with abetting KK Mart.
On top of this, two KK Mart outlets in Perak and Pahang have also been attacked with firebombs following the controversy. - Mkini
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