Be the bridge that unites and leads Malaysians towards maturity, Agong tells political leaders after ‘Allah’ storm

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim today advised Malaysia’s political leaders to set an example for harmonious relations by working to bridge religious, racial, and cultural differences instead of adding to the division.

He urged the political leaders not to be extreme when giving their views on religious and racial issues.

“I would like to advise all parties to focus on inviting the people towards unity, instead of division. I want to see the people united in harmony.

“I hope that political leaders are not extreme in giving their views on religious and racial issues. Not only Umno and DAP, but also all parties. Leaders must be a bridge or link between the diverse people of our country with examples of mature behaviour,” he said in his official Facebook post this afternoon.

“Recent events should open the eyes of all parties that all levels of the people have a responsibility to maintain the unity of the country. A perfect unity among the people will be a catalyst for the universal well-being of Malaysia. Ahead of this glorious Hari Raya, forgive each other and open a new page,” he added.

The King had earlier granted an audience to several ruling political leaders at Istana Negara, namely Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, DAP leader Liew Chin Tong and Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.

Dr Akmal 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 for sedition.

Also recently, a three-minute video went viral on social media showing a man claiming that the Vern’s shoes he purchased displayed a logo resembling the word ‘Allah’.

The shoe company, Vern’s Holding Sdn Bhd, has since publicly apologised for it.

The company also clarified that it never intended to produce a logo design that ridiculed or insulted any religion or belief, and expressed hope that the company would be given an opportunity to rectify its mistake.

Khat experts has explained that the logo on the shoe does not resemble the word Allah in the Malay-Arabic calligraphy.

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