Ever since KK Super Mart was accused of selling socks with the word “Allah” written on them, the local convenience store chain has faced major backlash. Although the company has issued an apology for the items, they currently have an uphill battle to go to earn back customers’ trust.
The issue has gotten to a point that even similarly-named stores were also targeted by the boycott despite not being affiliated with KK Super Mart. While we can understand the honest mistake due to similar names, this recent protest got netizens confused as to how the participants gathered at the wrong store.
Over the weekend, a large group of people attended a protest to call for a boycott against KK Super Mart over the “Allah” socks incident. The protesters were seen holding placards and expressed anger towards the convenience store chain but as seen in the screenshots above, the group seemed to have gathered at the wrong location. Instead of their local KK Super Mart outlet, the protest was held right in front of a 99 Speedmart outlet at Jalan Raja Bot, Kuala Lumpur.
The clip of the protest went viral on social media where netizens were mostly amused by the whole ordeal. Many were wondering how the crowd could’ve gotten the wrong store despite holding placards that read, “Boycott KK Super Mart”. Others joked about how 99 Speedmart would respond to the situation. A few pointed out that the group did not target the wrong store but rather chose 99 Speedmart as a gathering point for the protest.
Meanwhile, ever since the issue was brought to light, the UMNO Youth party demanded KK Mart put up apology banners on all their outlets nationwide. This has led Mydin managing director Ameer Ali Mydin along with other political leaders to urge Dr Akmal Saleh, the UMNO Youth Chief to stop exploiting the issue for political mileage.
“Why is he still kicking up a fuss? Political parties should distance themselves from 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues and we should not pour oil on the flames,” he said believing that the boycott campaign would affect investor confidence and the livelihood of workers.
Rapper-entrepreneur Caprice also called for a boycott against KK Super Mart when the incident first went viral but has met up with the store’s founder Datuk Seri Dr KK Cha to give him the opportunity to explain the situation in more detail and apologise on behalf of the convenience store chain once again.
“Datuk Seri agrees that the apology is NOT enough. Severe actions against the parties involved must be taken and openly shared on our side: WHO got fired, WHO in China designed it, and WHO will pay the price along with evidence. We will always protect the people and make sure this doesn’t happen again anywhere in Malaysia,” the celeb wrote in his captions.
Watch the viral protest video below:
Caprice’s video with Datuk Seri Dr KK Cha:
Sources: Twitter, TheRakyatPost, IG
