No need to fuel anger on socks issue, says King

PETALING JAYA: Stop harping on the socks controversy and leave the matter to the authorities, says His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

"I have instructed that action be taken in accordance with the law, so there is no need for any party to continue fueling anger.

"The action taken is not solely to punish, but also serves as a lesson and reminder to all to uphold the sensitivities of Malaysians," His Majesty said in a Facebook on Wednesday (March 27).

The King said it was better for all concerned to learn from this incident and strive to strengthen unity.

His Majesty also called on the public, especially community leaders, to act with maturity seeing persistent anger brings no benefit.

"Let us guide the people towards unity, not division. This is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of each other in our diverse society so that such incidents do not recur," he added.

On March 13, several pairs of socks with the word “Allah” printed on them were found in certain branches of convenience store chain KK Super Mart.

The incident caused backlash from several parties which led to calls for a boycott and threats against its business and staff.