KK Mart Group founder Datuk Seri Dr K.K. Chai made a tearful apology, urging consumers not to boycott his brand after a video went viral showing a branch of the brand selling socks with the Arabic inscription of Allah on them.Despite the apology and explanations given by the mart owner, UMNO Youth Leader Dr Akmal Saleh remained dissatisfied and urged consumers to boycott the chain of convenience stores.Speaking at a media conference, Chai said: “Even I can’t accept the sales of socks bearing the word Allah, what more to print such products.“As the founder and the group executive chairman, I am deeply sorry and apologise for the incident that occurred a few days ago,” he told a press conference at Menara KK in Bandar Tasek Selatan.Chai, when referring to the sales of the product, said his team had never made such a mistake in his 23 years in the business.In fact, according to KK Super Mart’s statement, the sale of the product that was being sold at KK Super Mart, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya and two other branches has been stopped.Nevertheless, for Akmal, the situation is similar to previous ones, where the culprits make the mistake and apologise later.“Do it first and then apologise. It’s that simple. If Starbucks can boycott until it closes, let alone this supermarket,” he said via his Facebook page last night (March 15).Akmal, who is also a member of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) of Merlimau, stressed that the attitude of respect in this regard to Muslims is not just to be apologetic.However, Duyong assemblyman Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy called on consumers to boycott the products distributed by Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, the vendor of the socks.“Game on. No more KK Super Mart purchases. No more product purchases from Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd.” – March 16, 2024
