KUALA LUMPUR – There seems to be a “cartel” behind the issue involving “Allah”-printed socks that is deliberately sabotaging national unity, said Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (Alor Star-PN).
He also claimed this “cartel” may have used certain parties as scapegoats in this issue.
“It is not an exaggeration, I believe, to ask the government to take prompt action on this. We cannot rule out the possibility that there is a certain ‘cartel’ deliberately sabotaging unity (using this issue), scapegoating some parties.
“I believe this is the kind of incident that threatens our country’s unity and could trigger racial tension,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Afnan added that the contentious socks clearly infringed on the 3Rs (religion, race and royalty) but there had been no arrests to date.
“This issue clearly touches on the 3Rs. Previously, when some leaders were associated with the 3Rs, they were immediately investigated. There was news coverage on when their statements will be recorded (by the authorities).
“There are also leaders who are arrested at three in the morning, while they are sleeping. But this (socks) issue… we haven’t heard of any arrest, seizure or prosecution. Not yet.
“We take note of KK Mart’s apology. But it needs to be emphasised that it is not the issue of whether one apologises. If everything can be settled with an apology, then our country doesn’t need laws.”
In addition, he proposed stiffer punishments under Sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code, which deal with offences related to religion.
Currently, police are investigating the import and distribution of the socks after 42 reports were lodged nationwide.
Following outrage on social media, KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Seri K.K. Chai apologised profusely at a press conference on Saturday, explaining that the socks were imported from China and were among 1,200 other pairs, each with different designs.
Despite the apology and removal of the socks from store shelves, calls are being made for a boycott of KK Mart, led by Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh.
Local importer Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd also apologised, saying it had learnt “lessons from this incident” and was in the process of implementing stricter quality-control measures. – March 19, 2024