KUALA LUMPUR: PKR Youth has blamed several political leaders for sowing unrest and in turn, 'raising the temperature' on the KK Mart 'Allah' socks issue.
The youth wing, in a statement today, expressed concern over the rising number of incidents related to the issue, with the latest being a firebomb attack on a KK Mart store in Perak.
"A number of people, mainly political leaders, who should be preserving harmony, have instead been guilty of behaving irrationally by playing up the issue, to the extent that it has sparked extremist behaviour.
"We reject the actions of these irresponsible quarters who sow seeds of hate without thinking of the larger repercussions on society at large.
"These exaggerated actions, which have created discord and now poses a threat to harmony, are irresponsible and will ultimately cost us dearly," read the statement.
PKR Youth said while it understood that the issue had a significant impact on the Muslim community, especially in Ramadan, it advised people not to go beyond the law by taking matters into their own hands.
"We fear that the incident in Perak signals the start of unbridled public unrest. We ask the authorities to take appropriate action," it said.
It noted that the government and authorities have already taken stern action, following the court charges leveled against the company as well as its supplier on the issue.
"We acknowledge the impact this incident has on Malaysians, particularly Muslims. However, we are confident in the authorities' credibility and trust them to tackle the issue within the perimeters of the law.
"Political leaders need to lead by example, not create borders."
