Akmal made a name for himself in the KK Mart fiasco

Politicians want to be known for certain things and Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Salleh carved his name out of the KK Mart fiasco, said DAP’s Ong Kian Ming in a YouTube podcast video when addressing issue.

“You see politicians are still politicians, they want to be out there, be seen for certain things, to be known for certain things,” he said.

“Sometimes you know, it is something that they work towards is strategic…” he said.

“I would say the person who has sort of like made a name for himself the most out of this particular controversy is the youth chief of Umno Dr Akmal Saleh, ADUN for Merlimau in Melaka, and member of Melaka state exco.

“He has come out very strongly, you know even in the face of criticism from the youth chief of DAP Dr Kelvin Yii you know he has used this opportunity to respond back to show he is the hero of this episode,” he said.

Branding

Ong a former federal lawmaker pointed that MPs also specialise on the topics that they spoke about to stand out from the crowd.

“If you think of MP, who used to speak about 1MDB, you will think of Tony Pua, you will think of Rafizi Ramli right, so that was their branding,” he added in the podcast video.

“If you think further, former Umno Youth Chief Hishammuddin Hussein, many non-Malay will remember him for raising the keris trying to instigate a certain reaction from the larger public and that was you know one of the reasons why there was a big swing among the non-Malays especially Chinese voters against MCA and BN in 2008 general election,” he said.

On March 13, social media went frenzy as images surfaced of socks emblazoned with the word “Allah” being retailed at KK Mart in Bandar Sunway, sparking fury within Malaysia’s Muslim populace.

Since then KK Mart has apologised, and the supplier, Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, had to temporarily shut down after its business licence was revoked by Batu Pahat Municipal Council (MPBP).

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Salleh, as reported by multiple media outlets, sharply criticised KK Mart, asserting its apology was insufficient, and urged a widespread boycott.

He also insisted that the company display nationwide apology banners to address the issue.