On 13 March 2024, a picture of socks being sold at a KK Super Mart in Sunway City, Petaling Jaya went viral on Malaysian social media. The socks were printed with the word Allah, which is the Arabic word for God. [1]
On 13 March 2024, a picture of socks being sold at a KK Super Mart in Sunway City, Petaling Jaya went viral on Malaysian social media. The socks were printed with the word Allah, which is the Arabic word for God. [1]
This case received the attention of the public and politicians such as Dr. Muhamad Akmal Saleh, [2] Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, [3] Datuk Razali Idris, [4] and leaders from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). [5] [6] [7] Some political analysts suggested that certain Muslim politicians were leveraging the event to rally support from Malay nationalists and potentially exacerbate divisions in multicultural Malaysia. [8]
Some commentators urged the public not to exaggerate this issue, including Chong Sin Woon, [9] Wee Ka Siong, [10] Loke Siew Fook, [11] Nga Kor Ming, [12] Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, [13] Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi [14] and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. [15] On social media, some users called for a boycott of the store chain. [16]
KK Super Mart issued an apology for selling the controversial socks, and they have committed to removing the item from their shelves. The distributor of these socks, Xin Jian Chang, also expressed regret. According to their statement, the socks in question were part of a shipment of 18,800 pairs produced by a Chinese company. [17] Notably, only five pairs out of this large quantity had the contentious print. KK Super Mart confirmed that they discovered these socks in stock at three of their 800 outlets. [16]
Since the boycott, there have been three Molotov cocktail-throwing incidents at KK Super Mart branches. On 28 March, at 5:35 am (just six days after similar attacks occurred at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia), a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a KK Super Mart branch in Bidor, Perak from a car. [18] Two days later, another KK Super Mart branch in Kuantan was hit by a Molotov cocktail, causing a small fire at the entrance. Additionally, on April 1, another branch in Kuching was also targeted with a Molotov cocktail. [19] These attacks are still under investigation. According to Wan Mohamad Zahari Wan Busu, the police chief of Kuantan, the attack may be related to the sock controversy. [20] [21]
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Acting Sultan of Johor (Tunku Mahkota Johor), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim ordered that the those responsible are subject to strict action by the authorities to avoid the same incident from happening again. [17]
Director of the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department, Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, said two investigation papers were opened following the receipt of 42 reports. This case will be investigated by the Bukit Aman Classified Crime Investigation Unit under Section 298A of the Penal Code. This section pertains to religious reasons, specifically actions that create an atmosphere of disharmony, division, enmity, hatred, malice, or harm to unity.
On March 20, the man who posted the original photo of the socks to social media was arrested. [22]
On March 25, Malaysian police announced that the directors of KK Super Mart and the Xin Jian Chang distribution company would be held liable in court. The directors of KK Super Mart would be charged under Section 298 of the Penal Code for "intentionally wounding religious feelings", while the Xin Jian Chang distribution company would be charged with "abetting the offense". [8] [23]
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