Convenience store owner charged over 'Allah socks'
By Kelly Ng
The prominent founder of a Malaysian convenience store chain has been charged over the sale of socks with the word Allah written on them.
Chai Kee Kan and his wife, Loh Siew Mui, who is a company director, were accused of “wounding the religious feelings of others”.
They pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to a year.
The socks ran into controversy two weeks ago, with some calling for a boycott of the chain.
KK Super Mart and their Malaysian supplier, Xin Jian Chang, had apologised. The store also took them off the shelves.
But the controversy continued as photos of the socks sparked a backlash online and drew criticism from Malaysia’s king and political leaders. Police said that they had received close to 200 complaints by Monday.
The use of the word Allah – an Arabic term for God, which Muslims see as sacred – by non-Muslims has been contentious in Malaysia in the past.
The Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion. But Islam is the country’s official religion and Malay-Muslims make up more than two-thirds of its 34 million people.
