It’s a prayer mat, not a door mat, say hypermarket chain and supplier

PETALING JAYA: A prayer mat that was mistakenly labelled as a door mat is the cause of contention over a product that was seized by authorities in Johor recently.

In a joint statement, hypermarket chain Aeon Big and the supplier of the prayer mats A&R Fashion Collection, said that the design is vertically oriented, which is common for prayer mats.

ALSO READ: Johor authorities seize 11 door mats with images said to be of Kaabah

“In line with Aeon Big’s best practices for SME suppliers, A&R (the supplier) proceeded to use an item code previously used for the company’s other products.

“As a result, the label tagged onto the product carried several descriptions, thus causing confusion.

“This matter was immediately rectified in Aeon Big’s stock management system and the description of ‘sejadah’ on the said prayer mat has since been reflected,” read the statement on Saturday (April 13).

“The supplier involved, A&R Fashion Collection, is a 100% bumiputra/Muslim-owned small-medium enterprise who are in the business of supplying modest syariah-compliant clothing such as prayer robe, hijab, kurta, sampin, songkok as well as products such as prayer mats, carpets and rugs,” it said.

Aeon Big added that it gave full cooperation and provided a statement to the Johor Islamic Department (JAINJ) and pledged to give further cooperation and other relevant authorities.

Earlier, the department said authorities seized 11 door mats with images said to depict the Kaabah from a booth at a popular shopping complex on the eve of Hari Raya.

Johor Islamic affairs committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said was after they received a complaint from the public.

“The department launched an operation with the assistance of the police.

“We found 11 door mats believed to have images resembling the Kaabah and seized them,” he said on Saturday.

He also advised the public to stay calm and let authorities investigate.

Mohd Fared also urged the public to lodge a complaint with the state Islamic department or relevant authorities if they come across such issues instead of posting it on social media.