JOHOR BAHRU – At least 12 local councils in Johor have conducted inspections on KK Mart outlets under their respective jurisdictions.

This came following a decree from Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim directing the authorities to take firm action on the controversial socks issue and ensure that it does not happen again.

Checks on the official Facebook pages of all 16 local councils in Johor found that at least 74 KK Mart outlets, including 52 in the Greater Johor Bahru area, were raided on March 20.

The operations were jointly conducted with other agencies, including the police, the Johor Islamic Religious Department, and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.

No socks with the word “Allah” printed on them were found in any of the stores that were inspected.

But some of the stores were issued compounds for other violations, including operating without a licence, causing obstruction, not adhering to advertising regulations and selling alcohol without a licence.

The Segamat Municipal Council also ordered one KK Mart outlet to be shut down for selling alcohol without a licence. A total of 196 bottles of alcohol were also seized from the store.

On March 20, the Regent of Johor urged the authorities to take firm action regarding the sale of the controversial socks to prevent a similar issue from repeating.

“Regarding the recent matter, I urge the authorities to take firm action and ensure that an issue like this does not happen again. The issue cannot be taken lightly,” he said on his Facebook page on March 19.

He added that he considered the matter to be serious and hoped that it would not jeopardise national harmony. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK