FMT:
Umno told Akmal to stand down on socks issue, says Bung
The Sabah Umno chief says Dr Akmal Saleh was told to stand down after it was revealed that KK Mart had no control over the supply of the socks and following its apology.
PETALING JAYA: The Umno leadership had told youth wing chief Dr Akmal Saleh to stop raising the issue of KK Mart and its controversial sale of socks bearing the word “Allah”, the party’s Sabah chief Bung Moktar Radin says.
According to The Vibes, Bung said Akmal was told to stand down after it was revealed that KK Mart had no control over the supply of the socks and following its swift apology.
“It’s not a matter of whether we agree or disagree with Akmal, but Umno already directed him to stop during a recent meeting.
“Even party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the king have called for an end to the issue,” Bung was quoted as saying.
The KK Mart controversy began on March 13 when photographs of socks with the word “Allah” at an outlet in Bandar Sunway were circulated on social media.
The company issued an apology, but Akmal continued to publicly campaign for a nationwide boycott of the convenience store chain.
His actions drew criticism from many quarters, with former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin urging Akmal to stop hitting out at KK Mart as “you have (already) got your point across”.
KK Mart’s founder and director, Chai Kee Kan and Loh Siew Mui, have claimed trial to intentionally wounding the religious feelings of Muslims by selling the socks.
Meanwhile, three KK Mart outlets, including one in Kuching, Sarawak, have been subject to petrol bomb attacks over the past week, incidents which Akmal condemned.
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has called for those instigating the boycott of KK Mart to stop inciting the people or take responsibility for the attacks on its outlets.
Bung said a certain former Sabah assemblyman had associated the petrol bomb incidents with the Umno state chapter in urging Sabahans to reject the party.
The Kinabatangan MP said this was “quite amusing” as Sabah Umno was “neither extremist nor racist”.
“Every day, I work with non-Muslims. I have also urged non-Muslim Umno members to deny all such statements. The former assemblyman cannot judge us in that manner. If such a thing occurred in the peninsula, please, do not bring it here.”
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