KUALA LUMPUR – DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has conveyed concerns about Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s strident calls for a boycott against convenience store chain KK Mart to party leader Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Bernama reports Loke saying he told Umno president Zahid of these concerns during a breaking of fast ceremony at Istana Negara yesterday.
Politicians should stop playing up the issue of KK Mart’s inadvertent sale of socks printed with the word “Allah” and should instead be “bridge builders”, said Loke, who is also transport minister.
“We as political leaders need to build a bridge to solve this issue and lower the temperature. That’s our approach as a party and government, and not to exaggerate an issue,” he said after a mock check presentation ceremony to the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology here today.
Akmal is urging the public to boycott KK Mart and for the chain store to place banners with an apology at all 881 of its outlets nation-wide.
Though Umno and DAP are allies in the unity government, Akmal has brushed off advice to tone down his rhetoric, doubling-down instead by saying he would push harder for a boycott the more he was told to stop.
Loke said he did not agree with Akmal’s approach, as KK Mart had apologised and admitted its mistake.
“When the apology was made, we should have resolved the issue by being bridge-builders. We feel that in this sensitive issue, it should be handled with prudence,” said Loke.
He also met KK Mart, Datuk Seri K.K. Chai, and arranged a meeting for him with the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) to explain the mistake.
“Even Datuk Seri K.K. Chai met with Jakim’s director-general yesterday to give explanations and so on. So there is a process with religious authorities who will investigate what happened,” Loke said.
Others who have told Akmal to pipe down include Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who accused the Umno Youth chief of using the issue for his personal agenda.
DAP’s Bandar Kuching MP, Dr Kelvin Yii, has also said a boycott would be unproductive and hurt the local economy, urging other politicians to practice “mature politics” over the issue.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has also tried to quell tempers, saying the authorities should be trusted to investigate the matter.
On Saturday, KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Seri K.K. Chai apologised in a press conference, explaining that the socks were imported from China and were among 1,200 other pairs, each with different designs.
Although admitting that he did not do a full inspection of every pair, Chai stressed that only three outlets carried the socks.
Today, it emerged that five socks out of a shipment of 18,800 pairs received by KK Mart’s vendor, Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, were printed with “Allah” after police seized the five pairs during a raid at the company’s factory in Batu Pahat.
The importer said it would be mulling legal action against its China-based supplier for failing to follow specific instructions.
Despite the apology, 42 police reports have been lodged nationwide to date, and police are investigating the matter. – March 19, 2024