AFTER a dressing down by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the laundrette owner who caused a storm with his “Muslim-friendly” sign in his outlet apologised to the sultan and people of Johor.

The laundrette owner, who declined to be named, told Free Malaysia Today that he has accepted and will adhere with the sultan’s command to scrap his Muslim-only business plan.

“I obey the sultan’s command. I also apologise to His Majesty and the people of Johor over what happened.

“I hope the trouble caused these last few days will pass. I have taken down the (Muslim-friendly) signage,” the owner of Elit Laundry in Muar said.

The businessman said operations would go on as usual, FMT reported. He added that he would be mindful of any weaknesses in his business in the future so as not to offend the Sultan and the people of Johor.

In a report in The Star today, Sultan Ibrahim hit out at the laundrette owner, saying that Johor was not a “Taliban state”.

The sultan said that as head of Islam in the state, he found the Muslim-only laundrette “unacceptable as it was extremist in nature”. 

“I cannot accept this nonsense. This is Johor, which belongs to Bangsa Johor and it belongs to all races and faiths. This is a progressive, modern and moderate state,” he said. He also demanded the business owner apologise to him and the people of Johor.

Sultan Ibrahim also reportedly said the business owner was “sick”, and that if the latter insisted on carrying on with his Muslim-only practice, was welcome to leave Johor and set up shop in Afghanistan.

He said orders had been given to the state executive council and all local councils in Johor to revoke the licence of any business carrying out such “blatant discriminatory practices”.

At the start of the controversy, the business owner had defended himself, saying he was not racist and was only doing his duty as a Muslim. Some also saw no wrong in his discriminative business plan.

Johor Islamic Council adviser Nooh Gadut reportedly said Muslims and non-Muslims must ensure that their laundry was not mixed with “najis mughallazah”, or faeces of pigs and dogs.

Johor Mufti Mohd Tahrir Samsudin, who had previously praised the laundrette’s Muslim-only policy, refused to comment further on the issue, FMT reported.

“I am sorry. I can’t comment on this issue. It is on the command of the Sultan,” he was quoted as saying. – September 27, 2017.