KUALA LUMPUR: The controversial socks with the word "Allah" on them sold at KK Mart were bought in a bundle and imported from China.
Soh Chin Huat, the owner of Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, which brought in the socks, said his company was given the opportunity and space to sell its products at KK Mart stores by KK Super Mart executive chairman and founder Datuk Seri Dr KK Chai.
"I produce my own socks and also import some from overseas. These socks, I got in a bundle from China.
"They come from a batch of 1,200 socks of various designs and colours which arrived in our facility in Batu Pahat, Johor, last year.
"Our employees then sent out the socks to various KK Mart premises on Jan 29. This was a mistake by our employees who did not scrutinise the socks," he said.
Soh said, as soon as his company was informed by KK Mart about the issue, they contacted the producer of the socks.
"The producers claim that they did not know how the socks ended up in the bundle and admitted that this was a mistake by their workers.
"On our part, we have checked all the KK Mart premises and ensured that none of these socks are being sold (anymore)," he said.
Soh, who has been running his business for 25 years, apologised for the mistake.
"As the owner of the company that supplied the socks to KK Mart, I apologise for everything. This has opened my eyes to the need to be more careful in the process of bringing in products fom overseas... we will learn from our mistakes," he said.
Soh described KK Mart as the victim in the incident, adding that he hoped the people, especially Muslims, can forgive them.
Meanwhile, KK Mart corporate relations adviser Haika Daniel said allegations that the convenience stores had intentionally sold the socks to insult Muslims were altogether untrue.
"We know that the name of Allah is close to the heart of Muslims in the country. So, we want to emphasise that the company did not intentional create this issue... this is completely untrue.
