KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad (Mydin) managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin urged Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh to stop leveraging the "Allah” socks issue for political mileage at the expense of livelihoods.
Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported Ameer Ali saying that Akmal’s call for a public boycott of KK Mart, despite the convenience store chain having apologised, would affect investor confidence and the livelihoods of the workers — the majority who are Malay Muslims.
He questioned the Merlimau assemblyman’s rationale for his continued calls to denounce and protest against KK Mart.
“Political parties should distance themselves from 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues and we should not pour oil on the flames.
“Both KK Mart and the vendor have apologised. What else do you expect them to do?” Ameer Ali was quoted saying.
The country’s foremost halal hypermarket wholesaler and retailer was responding to Akmal who had previously dismissed an apology made by KK Mart after photographs of the offending socks, sold at an outlet, appeared on social media last week.
Ameer Ali said he acknowledged that the issue, which has since triggered a nationwide controversy, was a serious matter.
However, the 68-year-old Bumiputera Retailers Association president reportedly said that there was no need for the issue to be escalated further, especially by those who were seeking political mileage out of it.
Last night, former Umno Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz criticised Akmal over his handling of the “Allah” socks row, calling him a rabble-rouser that the ruling government can do without.
It was also reported that Akmal, during an Umno breaking fast event here, continued his condemnation of KK Mart with further calls for a boycott against the convenience store chain.
Earlier, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party agreed strict action should be taken against those who belittle the word “Allah,” as decreed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.
The offending socks were reportedly discovered for sale at the KK Mart outlets last week and were later traced to a distributor in Batu Pahat, Johor that said they were imported from China.
In response, KK Mart and the Johor-based distributor apologised for the incident. Sales of the socks, that were from China, were also immediately recalled.
The incident has caused a major controversy in Malaysia, with Sultan Ibrahim expressing his displeasure over the matter and decreeing that authorities must act sternly in response.
