Govt will study all views over boycott trend, says Na’im
Published on: Saturday, May 04, 2024
By:
Mohamad Fadli, FMT
Na’im Mokhtar said the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia will look into all views, even though boycott is a matter of personal choice. (Bernama pic)
Kuala Lumpur: The government will examine all views pertaining to the recent trend among Muslims to boycott certain establishments and products, says religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar.
He said this includes the views of Perak mufti Wan Zahidi Wan Teh, who called yesterday for the KK Mart boycott to end because it had deviated far from the path of Islamic justice.
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“I have instructed the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) to examine his opinion and all other views from various perspectives, even though a boycott is a matter of personal choice.
“There are many different opinions and we respect them. We take an approach of examining those views and making decisions afterwards (after studying the views),” he told reporters here today.
Yesterday, Wan Zahidi urged Muslims to stop boycotting KK Mart because the response to the issue of the convenience store selling socks with the word “Allah” printed on them had strayed far from the path of Islamic justice.
He said that according to Islamic jurisprudence, the important element in criminal behaviour was intention and desire to commit the act.
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Therefore, he said, through KK Mart’s subsequent actions, the accusation of insulting Islam had not been proven.
He also said boycotting a particular group was not in line with the ways of the Prophet Muhammad, citing the example of the formation of the Medina Charter.
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The KK Mart controversy began on March 13 when photographs of socks with the word “Allah” at an outlet in Bandar Sunway were circulated on social media. The company issued an immediate apology.
KK Mart founder Chai Kee Kan and his wife, Loh Siew Mui, a KK Mart director, have claimed trial to intentionally wounding the religious feelings of Muslims by selling the socks.
Despite KK Mart’s apology and the court action, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh continued to publicly campaign for a nationwide boycott of the convenience store’s outlets.
Since last October, many people have also boycotted several brands allegedly associated with Israel, over the war in Gaza.
These were mainly in the fast-food industry, including McDonald’s, KFC, and Starbucks.
More recently, an altercation took place outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Sungai Isap, Kuantan, where a family was heckled and threatened by a group of men for choosing to eat at the outlet.
Five suspects were arrested in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, several videos and messages have gone viral on social media, in which people patronising these fast-food outlets were called names.
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