Firdaus Wong’s 14-year-old Bt Bintang Islamic evangelism an acid test for Hannah Yeoh’s FT ministership

 

The rare Year of the Fire Horse (beginning Feb 17, 2026) brings a surge of intensity, momentum and transformative change. This once-in-60-years combination amplifies courage and restlessness, rewarding bold action while testing focus and restraint. – Taiwanology

 

THE above 2026 Feng Shui outlook has its merit insofar as Federal Territory (FT) Minister Hannah Yeoh is concerned.

An enforcement action against a “Street Dakwah” booth in Bukit Bintang by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) – coincidentally on the first day of the Lunar New Year itself – has set the city authority on collision course with controversial Muslim convert preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung.

Social media is now abuzz with widespread furore from rightist after the Multiracial Reverted Muslims (MRM) founder questioned the enforcement action while claiming that the NGO has conducted its evangelist activities at the popular touristic spot for 14 years without being required to obtain a permit.

Although Firdaus personally doubted that the enforcement action is a tit-for-tat for his outspokenness on the kuil haram polemic in which he stands in solidarity with fellow Muslim convert preacher Zamri Vinoth, the very fact that he has picked a bone with DBKL in a sarcastic manner has enraged his large fan base.

Sarcasm trigger

Congratulations to DBKL who on the Chinese New Year (CBY) public holiday was willing to mobilise 12 officers to close down and seize the MRM Street Dakwah booth in Bukit Bintang!

Very efficient. Alhamdulillah. So efficient especially on a holiday with 12 officers while only one MRM volunteer was on duty that day.

For 14 years MRM has held Street Dakwah there, dozens if not hundreds of times the police and DBKL (officers) had passed by and visited the MRM booth.

I once enquired if MRM needs to apply for a license or permit to conduct Street Dakwah to which the answer is no need because MRM doesn’t conduct sales activities and doesn’t disrupt traffic.

This is despite DBKL having defended its Feb 17 action of dismantling the tent erected by MRM which had been set up on a public footpath in front of Bangunan Yayasan Selangor following field monitoring.

The city authority further clarified that it does not prohibit dakwah activities in public areas so long as they comply with procedures set by the local authority.

All in all, the enforcement actions were conducted professionally and based on legal provisions to safeguard public safety, urban order and the smooth use of public spaces.

‘Enemy of Islam’

But the matter became more heated when Firdaus in a series of follow-up Facebookj posts drew a comparison as to how “the 10-by-10 MRM booth was seized for obstruction” but DBKL turned a blind eye to an alleged Hindu illegal temple which obstructs the road.

“The road is in the wrong, not the temple. DBKL has to demolish the road,” quipped the 43-year-old Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur-raised preacher.

Worse still, he later rebutted point-for-point DBKL’s statement, including disputing the city authority’s claim that no MRM representative was around to answer queries prior to the dismantling process.

“Invite your officers to swear on the mubahalah oath stating that there was no MRM representative there to provide an explanation,” challenged Firdaus. “Does DBKL dare to take up this challenge?”

Inevitably, his slew of social media outreach touched on the raw nerve of many sympathisers who began to vent their anger on DAP and Yeoh who is trying her utmost best to build a healthy rapport with the Malay majority city folks, including the record low Bazar Ramadan rental rate despite being the first non-Muslim FT Minister.

At the end of the day, just imagine how a simple enforcement action can have such a devastating spill-over effect till it gets politicised with the minister and her party ended up being portrayed as an “enemy of Islam”, no thanks to the moral support extended by the opposition parties/detractors. 

- FOCUS MALAYSIA