Socks issue: Umno Youth chief's stance has full backing of supreme council, says sec-gen

KUALA LUMPUR: The stance taken by Umno Youth on the controversial socks issue is the same as that of the supreme council, says the party secretary-general.

When met Friday (March 22) at party headquarters here, Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (pic) said the supreme council fully endorsed the stance by Youth wing leader Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.

“The support is unanimous,” he said.

Reading a prepared statement by the supreme council, Asyraf said the party noted that recent issues such as the film "Mentega Terbang", the proposal to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor as Unesco World Heritage Sites and the current matter of the socks have become “harmful polemics”.

ALSO READ: Apology messages appearing on KK Super Mart electronic displays, cash registers

“Umno strongly stands with the decree by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia urging all to maintain national harmony and to not touch on sensitive issues regarding royalty, race and religion.

“Umno also fully supports His Majesty’s decree in wanting the strongest action taken on any party involved in the belittling of the word Allah,” he said.

He added that the party would not compromise on matters relating to the sanctity of Islam and urged all quarters to learn from this incident to prevent any recurrence.

Earlier this month, several outlets of convenience store chain KK Super Mart were found selling socks with the word "Allah" printed on them.

Its founder and KK Group of Companies executive chairman Datuk Seri KK Chai apologised over the issue.

However, Muhamad Akmal said the apology was insufficient and that Umno Youth wanted a stronger gesture of atonement from the company, failing which it would take "drastic" action.