UPDATED 7PM | PSM central committee member S Arutchelvan, who in a Facebook post earlier, questioned the discrimination against those who wore slippers, has clarified that it was meant to be satirical.

“In the first place, two senior politicians were talking about slippers in VIP airport lanes as if it was the biggest issue confronting our country,” he added in a posting this evening.

In his earlier posting, Arutchelvan had called on all those who wear slippers to unite, saying the footwear is cheap and comfortable.

“What is the rationale in discriminating slippers?” he asked.

Arutchelvan's posting drew mixed responses, with some asking him to focus on more important matters, prompting the PSM leader to retort if he should discuss how Pakatan Harapan parties don't have a uniformed stand on ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) instead.

Whereas, another user Philips Gomez quipped that there would be a sharp spike in the price of slippers after this episode.

On Saturday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke revealed that MIC president SA Vigneswaran was stopped by officers at the KLIA VIP lane on Nov 14 for not following the proper dress code.

The minister said Vigneswaran, who was wearing a red collared shirt, long pants and sandals, did not stop and went downstairs into the VIP lobby area before heading to the departure gate.

According to Loke, the MIC president had encroached into a security area without going through proper checks and without a security pass.

Vigneswaran, who is also the Dewan Negara president, claimed that he wore sandals because of an injury on his foot. He also alleged that Loke was not interested in listening to his explanation.

In defending his party boss, Federal Territory MIC chairperson S Rajah challenged Loke to take action against Daim Zainuddin for wearing slippers when using the VIP lane in KLIA.