KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has hit back at an academic who criticised him for being a "bully" over his stand on the "Allah" socks issue.

In a Facebook post, Akmal responded to Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University who in an FMT report, said a "bully will always pick on a smaller person."

Tajuddin also voiced doubt that Akmal would dare seek an apology from China over the socks which was manufactured in the country.

Today, Akmal questioned if Tajuddin knew what a bully was.

"Are these tycoons weak? Are these tycoons poor?," said Akmal, who has been at the forefront of calls for action and a boycott against KK Mart, which was found to have sold the socks bearing the name "Allah".

The convenience chain has since removed the socks from its shops and apologised over the matter.

Akmal said Tajuddin should learn to differentiate between a bully and a defender.

He said a defender was someone who protected the weak from bullies and that many Malaysian Muslims who were "insulted" by the socks were not as "strong or rich" as the tycoons.

"You (Tajuddin) can say anything you want to defend the tycoons but you cannot stop people from boycotting (KK Mart)."

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/03/1030698/learn-difference-between-bullies-and-defenders-akmal-tells-critic