LETTER | The offensive socks incident has proven again how vulnerable Malaysia is to sinister attacks from unknown origins aimed at the most sensitive fabric of race, religion and ethnicity that is at the heart of our society.

True Malaysians understand this perfectly, especially what it means to respect and love each other for our differences because that is the very feature that makes this country great in the first place.

Unfortunately, the facts are that the store in this case is owned by an owner of a particular ethnicity and the product in question has offended the masses of people who subscribe to Islam in this country.

What is shocking is that it suggests that unknown dark elements are at work exploiting sensitive elements to hopefully stir up hate conflicts as it is hard to believe that this is not a well-planned scheme.

The offensive socks in this incident should be viewed with the same severity involving a dangerous weapon like a gun because clearly, it is designed to inflame hate and more in a sensitive society like ours.

How our country’s gatekeeping processes have been exploited so easily that this offensive item can make its way seamlessly from the source to the shelves begs the question about how secure our national supply chain is and surely, this is a matter of national security now. 

It opens our eyes to the question about what other items or products designed to incite hate and disharmony will be able to make their way into our country and be weaponised to fan hate in people.

That such an offending product exists in this country now is undisputed evidence of vile elements actively targeting Malaysia using the most sensitive elements near and dear to its citizens in order to stir up trouble. 

It is because of this now and ever more than before that we, as Malaysians, need to stand together as one against what appears to be the latest form of national security threat from hate mongers who have set their sights on destroying this nation and its people.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.