KUALA LUMPUR: A product with a design depicting the ‘Kaaba’ that was seized by the Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) at a supermarket in Batu Pahat on Tuesday, is meant for use as a mini ‘sejadah’, or prayer mat.
AEON BiG (M) Sdn Bhd (“AEON BiG”) and the product’s supplier, A&R Fashion Collection (A&R) in a joint statement today explained that the confusion arose due to the product being incorrectly labelled as a ‘doormat’.
According to the statement, upon receiving the information, the description of the product was immediately corrected in the AEON BiG product management system.
“Both AEON BiG management and A&R hope the joint statement clarifies any doubts regarding this issue.
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“We hope that speculations that can affect the harmony of our multi-racial society will be stopped,“ it read.
According to the statement, A&R is a 100 per cent Bumiputera and Muslim-owned Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) that supplies syariah-compliant Muslim clothing such as ‘jubah’, hijabs, kurtas, ‘samping’, songkok as well as other products such as rugs, carpets and mats.
The company was founded in 2007 and has been a supplier of AEON BiG since 2015, besides supplying to other retailers and selling the products in its own stores.
AEON BiG and A&R said they would also continue to cooperate with JAINJ and any relevant authorities should there be any further information required.
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Earlier, Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said that JAINJ had confiscated 11 floormats bearing the images of the Kaaba that were sold at a supermarket in Batu Pahat, on Tuesday, following complaints from the public.
He said the management of the supermarket involved had also been called to provide a statement and had been warned to be more careful with the products sold so as not to touch on the sensitivities of the community.
