PUTRAJAYA: Sporting goods chain Al-Ikhsan conducted a 'sertu' (cleansing) procedure at its outlet at the Alamanda shopping centre today, a day after a wild boar inadvertently wandered into its premises.
The process was carried out under the watchful observation of staff from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi).
The cleansing process, which was joined by 15 Jawi staff and 10 Al-Ikhsan workers, began at 10am and ended two hours later.
Jawi Putrajaya senior assistant director Mastuyah Sahari said Al-Ikhsan had informed them of the incident yesterday evening.
She said that to their knowledge, this marked the first time that such an incident had occurred in the shopping complex.
Mastuyah said Jawi Kuala Lumpur research section staff and Al-Ikhsan staff helped with the cleansing ritual.
She said the assistance rendered was a form of 'dakwah' by Jawi to guide and teach the Muslim community regarding the cleansing process.
"We tracked the boar's footprints and saliva and disposed items that came into contact with the animal," she said when met here today.
Yesterday, videos and images of the wild boar entering the Alamanda shopping complex and wandering around the Al-Ikhsan store around 12.30pm went viral on social media.
The lost boar was then guided out of the premises by the Fire and Rescue Department to a rugby field nearby the shopping complex.
Meanwhile, Al-Ikhsan Klang Valley area manager Saiful Adam said they have taken the necessary steps to carry out the cleansing process at the premises based on Islamic guidelines.
He said the company sustained losses of almost RM20,000 since they had to throw away items which had come into contact with the animal such as shoes, trousers and jerseys on display.
"We highly regret any inconvenience caused by the incident and we will do our best to secure the trust of our customers," he said.