ISKANDAR PUTERI: The owner of Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd, which gained notoriety due to the distribution of socks bearing the word ‘Allah’, has been given 60 days to explain to the local authorities why the factory should not be closed down for breaching its business licence terms.
State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor (pix) said investigations showed that the company had violated the terms of the business licence granted by the Batu Pahat Municipal Council (MPBP), which is for a shoe storage and distribution facility.
“The factory is supposed to engage only in the storage and distribution of shoes but was involved in the packaging of socks and gloves, which was not included in its licence application. This is why a notice of licence cancellation and premises closure was issued to them,“ he told reporters at his office in the Dato’ Abdul Rahman Andak Building here today.
He said the company owner needs to present the corrective actions they need to take to convince the local authority to maintain their licence.
“Once the licence is revoked, it will be difficult for the company as they will be blacklisted, making it challenging for them to reapply unless they set up a new company,“ he said.
He said this when asked to comment on the notice of business licence cancellation and business operation closure issued to the factory over its distribution of the ‘Allah’ socks to KK Super Mart convenience stores.
Mohd Jafni said inspections conducted at 73 KK Super Mart convenience stores in the state did not find any socks carrying the word ‘Allah’. However, various violations of licence conditions were discovered, such as advertisements not following specifications and failure to separate halal items from non-halal items.
“Therefore, it is time for the local authorities to conduct more aggressive inspection routines, not only at KK Super Mart but also at all other convenience stores,“ he added.
Last Tuesday, police seized five pairs of ‘Allah’ socks which were returned by the convenience chain store during an inspection at the factory responsible for packaging and distributing the socks to the chain’s outlet in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
He said the inspection found that the factory had imported 16 packages containing 18,800 pairs of socks but no more socks with the word ‘Allah’ were found except for those already seized.
Investigations are being conducted under Section 298A and Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998. -Bernama
