KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan met with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim today to apologise for the sale of socks bearing the word “Allah” at his convenience store chain.
In a statement, the king said he had granted an audience with the KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd founder for about 15 minutes, during which the latter apologised to His Majesty as well as to all Muslims in the country for the incident.
In response to the apology, Sultan Ibrahim instructed all parties, including KK Mart, to exercise greater caution when selling products – particularly when dealing with imported goods.
Citing the Malay proverb “Jangan pisang berbuah dua kali,” which means “do not let history repeat itself,” the King stressed that such an incident should not reoccur in the future.
“All quarters must be more responsible. ‘Jangan pisang berbuah dua kali’, I hope this is the last time I have to stress this.
“Once again, I warn quarters against taking advantage of this matter, especially (by) inciting the people. I do not want this matter to drag on,” he said on his official Facebook page.
KK Mart and its manufacturer, Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, landed in hot water after being caught selling several “Allah”-printed socks. This resulted in outrage in the Muslim community and boycott calls from certain quarters.
Soon after the blunder, Chai issued an apology, admitting that he did not do a full inspection of every pair of socks.
However, he stressed that only three outlets carried the socks, and only 14 pairs had “Allah” on them.
On top of the 14 pairs, the authorities later found five more during a raid at the manufacturer’s premises in Batu Pahat.
The controversy led to several KK Mart outlets being attacked, including hits involving molotov cocktails in Kuantan, Pahang, and Bidor, Perak – as well as a petrol bomb being used in Kuching, Sarawak.
Last Wednesday, Chai and his wife Loh Siew Mui were charged in the Shah Alam sessions court for intentionally hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims, while three of Xin Jian Chang’s directors were also charged with abetting the duo in the socks’ distribution.
The two companies are also engaged in a separate civil suit brought by KK Mart, which claims more than RM30 million in damages and losses caused by Xin Jian Chang’s alleged sabotage. – April 3, 2024