Malaysia: Sale of offensive socks, attack on store

Police in Malaysia said on Saturday that people attacked a superstore with petrol bombs (Molotov cocktail bombs), the owners of which are accused of offending religious sentiments by selling socks with the word ‘Allah’ written on them. was

According to the news agency Reuters, the pictures of socks sold at ‘KK Supermart Store’ on social media caused outrage among Muslims.

Two-thirds of Malaysia’s population of around 3.5 million are Muslims, while a large number of Tamil-Indian and Chinese minorities also live here.

State-run news agency Bernama reported that Supermart founder and chairman Chai Kekan, his wife and company director Loh Siew Moi, as well as three representatives of their suppliers, were on Tuesday accused of offending religious sentiments over the socks. He was indicted on the charge, but most have denied the crime.

Kuantan police chief Wan Mohd Zehri Wan Basu told Reuters by phone that a petrol bomb attack occurred on Saturday at KK Supermart in Kuantan district in the eastern state of Pahang.

This was the second such incident after a petrol bomb was thrown at another KK supermarket in Perak state on Tuesday, Bernama reported.

Police have not yet identified any suspects in Saturday’s attack but are investigating the area and examining CCTV camera recordings for evidence, Wan Mohammad Zahri said.

He said: ‘Police believe the attack is linked to the sale of offending socks but we are still investigating.’

According to media reports, due to the attack, some items placed in front of the store were burnt, but the workers present in the store immediately controlled the fire.

KK Supermart, the country’s second largest mini-market chain, apologized after the images of the socks surfaced, saying it had taken the matter seriously and had taken immediate action to stop selling them.

The supermarket also sued the supplier of the socks, alleging defamation and damage to its brand reputation.

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