KOTA Kinabalu police has recorded a 2-hour statement from Pemuda chief Dr Akmal Saleh after being detained at KK International Airport today.

This followed two reports lodged against him in relation to the ongoing saga involving convenience store chain KK Super Mart and its sales of socks bearing the word “Allah”.

In a statement, the police said that Dr Akmal was being investigated under the Sedition Act as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

He has been at the forefront of calls to boycott KK Super Mart following the sale of the “Allah” socks.

His vocal condemnation of the store has led some public figures, such as Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, to urge police to arrest the Umno youth chief for inciting racial and religious tensions.

Earlier in March, the homegrown convenience store chain – which boasts over 800 stores across the country – landed in hot water after photos of the socks went viral online, prompting widespread backlash from netizens and politicians as well as calls for a boycott.

KK Super Mart founder Chai Kee Kan and his wife – who is the firm’s company director – have since been charged with ‘deliberately intending to hurt the religious feelings’ of the Muslims.

Three officials from vendor company Xin Jian Chang who had supplied the socks were also charged with abetting the alleged crime.