UMNO Youth chief Dr Muhammad Akmal Salleh has hit back at lawyer and activist Siti Kasim for accusing him of trying to be a hero in the “Allah” socks controversy, saying he was merely doing so because his religion was offended.

Akmal said he had no intention of being a hero but was merely doing his part as a Muslim, adding that any Muslim, regardless of the strength of their faith, would react the same way if someone had insulted their religion.

“I certainly don’t want to be a hero. I just want to carry out my responsibility as a Muslim who is affected when his religion has been offended,” he said in a statement on Friday (March 22).

“Every person, regardless the strength of their faith, would feel something if someone offended their religion.”

Yesterday (March 21), Siti Kasim had lashed out at Akmal over his stance on the controversy, saying he does not represent the voice of the Malays in the country and that Akmal’s stance is merely a political stunt aimed at gaining support from Malay Muslims for UMNO.

“Sorry Akmal, but you certainly don’t speak for me or many others, okay? We Malays aren’t naïve as we were before this. Right now, don’t exploit this matter to manipulate religious and racial sentiments for politics.

“I’ve long said politicians, whether from PAS or UMNO, are all the same,” she said through a video post on her Facebook account.

Siti Kasim or Siti Zabedah Kasim had further claimed that Akmal and other politicians are exploiting the issue for political gain, given that previous racial and religious controversies have failed to provoke significant outrage within the Malay community.

“So now, he shifts focus to this matter - why? Because he wants to appear as the defender of religion and Islam, when in reality, it seems he’s only defending his own interests,” she added.

Therefore, Siti Kasim urged the public to refrain from engaging in the controversy and to allow the authorities to conduct their investigation.

“So, shut up okay? You’re not a hero to the Malays or to Islam. Let’s wait for the police to investigate, there might be sabotage or a genuine mistake involved,” she told Akmal.

Previously, Akmal said that he would not budge from the stance of urging Malay and Muslim individuals to boycott any business entity that insults Islam.

He was speaking on the issue of a boycott campaign against KK Mart supermarkets following the recent controversy.

Akmal said he represented the voice of Malay and Islam in this country.

“I have received numerous calls to discuss UMNO Youth’s action in launching a boycott campaign against KK Mart supermarkets; I will not entertain them. Instead, I will continue with an even stronger campaign to boycott the said supermarkets,” he said. - March 22, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/not-trying-to-be-a-hero-just-defending-my-religion-akmal-tells-siti-kasim/