PETALING JAYA: Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has found an unlikely ally in an MCA senator who praised him for his “sensible and rational” response to the Vern’s shoe controversy.
Ti Lian Ker said Wan Fayhsal’s response was more impressive and positive than that of his Umno counterpart, Dr Akmal Saleh.
The former MCA vice-president said Akmal had given Vern’s Holding Sdn Bhd 24 hours to explain its logo on the shoes, which some alleged resembled the Arabic script for the word “Allah”, or risk a boycott.
Ti, who had previously criticised Akmal’s behaviour over the sale of socks with the word “Allah”, said Akmal had again played “judge, jury and executioner” by giving the shoemaker an ultimatum before the due process.
He said Wan Fayhsal, on the other hand, called for calm, and provided a more progressive and matured outlook by stating that any reaction should be based on knowledge instead of blind emotion.
“Akmal needs to be more mature and may need to learn, embrace and emulate WAF (Wan Ahmad Fayhsal) in some ways if he wants to be a leader for all,” the former deputy unity minister told FMT.
“Akmal’s divisive, combative, rabble-rouser-like behaviour is out of sync with Malaysians and doesn’t augur well for a country that boasts its unique racial makeup and unity.”
Vern’s has apologised for the logo design, taken steps to stop sales of the shoes, and offered refunds to customers.
The company said the logo, imprinted on the sole, “was inspired by the image of interconnected lines resembling a high-heeled shoe” but acknowledged that the shortcomings in the design could lead to misinterpretation.
Police are investigating the case in which more than 1,000 pairs of the shoes have been seized from Vern’s outlets.
Wan Fayhsal, who had succeeded Ti as the deputy unity minister, said the controversy over the design of a shoe logo has made Islam “look very petty and bad”.
He also said Muslims should not be so paranoid as to think that everything is a challenge to Islam.
To this, Ti said Islam was never under siege in Malaysia, noting that there were sufficient laws and authorities to protect the religion’s sanctity and dignity.
“In this matter, Wan Fayhsal is spot on,” he said.
