PETALING JAYA – Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, on April 3 granted an audience to Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan, the owner of KK Mart, which was recently involved in a controversial socks issue.

During the 15-minute meeting, Mr Chai sought the King’s forgiveness, apologising to him and all Muslims over the socks issue.

The King decreed that all parties, including KK Mart, must be more careful with the products they sell, especially imported goods, to avoid any recurrences of the issue.

“Everyone must be more responsible. Don’t let this incident repeat, and I hope this is the last time I will have to stress on this,” he said in the decree.

“Once again, I warn all parties against taking advantage of this incident, including inciting the people. I do not want this issue prolonged any further,” he said in a post on Facebook.

In March, KK Super Mart founder Chai was charged over wounding religious feelings for selling socks with the word “Allah” printed on them.

The convenience store chain has sued the vendor of the socks, claiming its business was sabotaged by the supplier.

Controversy over the socks has led to some calling for a boycott of KK Mart, while multiple cases of petrol bombs being thrown at different outlets have been reported.