KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — A DAP Youth leader today suggested some politicians had enabled the recent series of religious controversies that have affected interracial ties by acting as provocateurs.
Raja Ahmad Iskandar Fareez, publicity secretary for Federal Territories DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) said instead of mediating peace and reconciliation, which is the inherent responsibility of those the public view as political leaders, some of whom were seen to have worsened the tension when Muslims were outraged by the recent fiasco over the sale of socks with the word “Allah” embroidered on it.
“When dealing with a controversy, it is the responsibility of political leaders to be a voice of reason instead of deepening the rift. They should have lead by example by choosing peace even if it's a difficult choice,” the Bukit Bintang Dapsy vice-chief said in a statement.
“In the era of social media dominance, it is unfortunately easy for us to be swayed by popular outrage. For politicians, it isn't easy to buck sentiment that's considered to be popular."
“But that is the obligation of the political leader in the context of a multiracial society — they must have the wisdom and courage to lead and speak out to preserve social cohesion," he added.
Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Salleh was among the most vocal critics of KK Mart when the convenience store chain was caught in a political storm over the sale of several socks that had the word Allah stitched on them.
Only a handful of the socks from over 18,000 imported from China were found to have the word “Allah”, suggesting the incident had likely been coincidental. The owners of the chain stores have since apologised but have been charged for “intentionally hurting the feelings of Muslims”.
Dr Akmal, who had called for a boycott of KK Mart, is also under police investigation.
