‘Allah’ socks furore: Malaysian king calls for stern action, says religious blunders ‘unacceptable’

SINGAPORE: Amid the furore over the sale of socks bearing the word “Allah” at a convenience store chain in the country, Malaysian king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has called for stern action to be taken against those responsible for the blunder.

He further stressed that such gaffes relating to religious and racial issues are unacceptable and should never be allowed to happen again.

“Whether this incident was intentional or otherwise, (and) whether the socks were imported or produced in local factories, I want the authorities to investigate and take stern action in accordance with the law so that such matters do not repeat itself,” Sultan Ibrahim said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Mar 19).

He added: “The word ‘Allah’ is revered by all Muslims. Furthermore, we are currently in the month of Ramadan. As such, there should not have been incidents that happen that could provoke anger.”

Earlier last week, the controversial socks were found to be sold in several outlets of local convenience store chain KK Super Mart.

Photographs of the offending item then went viral online, triggering backlash from netizens as well as prominent public figures and politicians. There were also calls for a KK Super Mart boycott.

KK Super Mart then apologised for the sale of the socks in a Facebook post on Mar 13, and its founder KK Chai followed up with a press conference on Mar 16.

“I humbly apologise to all Malaysians, especially those from the Muslim faith,” said Dr Chai, explaining then that the product management of the socks was done by a vendor via a space rental system and without the supervision of his employees.

Mr Soh Chin Huat, the owner of the vendor company Xin Jian Chang, who was also present at the press conference, said that the socks were imported from China and were among sacks that contained 1,200 pairs of different designs.

Inspections done by KK Super Mart at its 800 branches across the country found only three stores stocking the socks, with 14 pairs with the word “Allah” on them.