RAMADAN is supposed to be a period of quiet contemplation and forgiveness. But UMNO Youth head honcho Dr Muhammad Akmal Saleh seems to be having none of that in the holy fasting month for Muslims.
The Malacca state executive councillor is pulling all the stops going after the management of KK Super Mart as one or 0.11% of its 881 convenience store branches nationwide was found to be selling socks bearing the word “Allah”.
Earlier, he had called for a boycott alongside lodging of a nationwide police report of the convenience store chain. Now he wants all KK Super Mart branches to put up banners outside their premises apologising for the religious slur or face a “stronger boycott”.
This is despite the store having apologised for the oversight which it claimed was unintentional. The popular convenience store has also directed all outlets to pull from its shelves such items immediately.
But the Merlimau state assemblyman who has a track record for racial-religious posturing still wants his pound of flesh. For now, he does not seem to be in the mood to accept any apologies for what KK Super Mart has clarified to be an honest oversight and even accepted responsibility for.
It is well within the Russia-trained medical practitioner’s right to determine how far he wants to push the envelope on action against KK Super Mart – whether a slap on the wrist would suffice or lump the convenience store management in the same category as the Zionist aggressors in Gaza.
Channel energy to PADU
But perhaps with so much energy and attention already channelled towards boycotting KK Super Mart, UMNO Youth should consider diverting some of its resources towards getting Malaysians to stop their unofficial “boycott” of registering with the Central Database Hub (PADU).
PADU is the central database which the unity government in which UMNO is an ally will use to implement targeted subsidies. But as of last Friday (March 15), only 5.02 million or 16.7% Malaysians and Malaysian permanent residents have registered. The deadline for registration is March 31.
PADU: Hanya 17% penduduk Malaysia daftar setakat ini https://t.co/xGrl0ygsjf
— Firdaus Azil (@FirdausAzil) March 18, 2024
Such a poor registration rate should be a more pressing concern for UMNO Youth considering many of those eligible for targeted subsidies might not enjoy the benefit if they had not registered. The bulk of the recipients are Malays, the community which UMNO represents.
So instead of mobilising its members and the Malay community towards KK Super Mart’s boycott, it’d be more productive for UMNO Youth to organise a nationwide roadshow to get more Malaysians, especially the deserving Malays to register with PADU.
Perhaps in carrying out such a national service, Dr Akmal can also look into the reasons behind Malaysians’ reluctance to register with PADU such as concerns over personal data compromise which has led to the unofficial “boycott”.
This way, UMNO will be able to ensure that deserving Malaysians enjoy targeted subsidies when they are eventually rolled out while saving thousands of jobs – mostly those held by the Malays – that could have been lost due to the boycott of KK Super Mart. – March 18, 2024
