KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, on Wednesday granted an audience to Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan, the founder of KK Mart, who was recently involved in the controversy regarding socks bearing the word 'Allah'.

During the 15-minute audience, Chai apologised and sought forgiveness from His Majesty as well as from all Muslims, over the saga that had led to protests and boycotts of KK Marts from the Muslim community.

The King emphasized that all parties, including KK Mart, must exercise greater caution in the products they sell, particularly imported goods, to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

"Everyone must act responsibly. Let us ensure that such incidents do not recur, and I sincerely hope this will be the last time I need to address this issue," the King said in a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Furthermore, the King cautioned against any party exploiting the situation, including inciting the public as he expressed a desire to prevent further prolongation of the matter.

The emergence of photos depicting the socks for sale at a KK Supermart store on March 13 sparked outrage among Muslims. Sultan Ibrahim initially expressed dissatisfaction with the controversy, urging decisive actions against those responsible.

Chai and his wife, Loh Siew Mui, a director at KK Mart, subsequently pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally offending the religious sentiments of Muslims through the sale of the socks, along with three representatives of the chain's supplier.

Despite this, the anger directed at KK Mart has persisted, resulting in three attempted firebombing at the convenience store's outlets in Perak, Pahang and Sarawak.

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain issued a public reminder last week, urging all parties not to take matters into their own hands and calling on the public to allow the police to determine the appropriate course of action.