Far from numbers game; perhaps Firdaus Wong should focus on quality of believers, not quantity

 

AS Malaysian Indians of Hindu faith feel vindicated with Muslim convert preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung’s ‘much delayed’ confession that he had personally converted suspect in the centre of Quran trampling incident, it has been revealed that there has been no conversion record of the mualaf in his native Pahang state.

The Pahang Islamic Religious Council and Malay Customs (MUIP) confirmed that the 21-year-old final year Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) was not listed as a registered convert under its supervision with cross-checks with religious authorities in several states also producing similar outcome.

“So far, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have also confirmed that there is no conversion record of the student in question,” MUIP deputy CEO (baitulmal and operations) Dr Asmadi Abdul Rahman told Sinar Harian when contacted yesterday (March 2).

“For other states, we’ve yet to receive official feedback regarding his registration status.”

As Asmadi who is also the Pahang Chief Registrar of Converts seeks further clarification from Firdaus who is founder of the Multiracial Revert Muslims’ (MRM) – the NGO responsible in converting the suspect – 1,001 unanswered questions have surfaced with Muslims demanding harsher punishment on the suspect for being a murtad (apostate).

This came about as S. Vikneswaran pleaded not guilty at the Kuantan Sessions Court yesterday (March 3) with desecrating the Quran and posting offensive content on social media on Feb 22.

The charge was framed under Section 295 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of two years, a fine or both.

For the second charge, he was allegedly used the “ryandaselva” account on Threads to knowingly post offensive communication intended to offend others which was brought under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 with penalties under Section 233(2) of the same Act.

Under the said law, the son of a fish farmer faces up to RM500,000 in fine, two years’ imprisonment or both and an additional RM5,000 for each day the offence continues.

Sincerity factor

As many Malaysians expressed curiosity as to what has caused or triggered the suspect whose Muslim name is Muhammad Zain according to Firdaus to commit the heinous act, many Hindus have demanded that the suspect’s chargesheet should bear his Muslim name so as not to humiliate the Hindu faith.

This is when a Penangite stressed the need for Islamic authorities whether at state or federal level to constantly monitor the development of mualaf, an insinuation that far from conversion exercise being made a numbers game, the quality of believers should never be overlooked.

“What is the main motive behind one becoming a mualaf to cause unrest and disrupt peace in the country?” wondered the netizen in a reaction to a “Kurma daaaaaa …” (“Karma has prevailed”) Facebook post by “We are Bolehland Indians” of the Quran trampling suspect being charged in court.

“JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) must monitor the motives behind these mualaf to disrupt the harmony of the country,” proposed digital creator Subramaniam Nagamuthoo to the applause of few fellow Muslim commenters.

“The purpose of (certain) mualaf is not to learn Islam and develop themselves with the Islamic religion they embrace but rather to achieve a certain agenda. JAKIM needs to monitor these mualaf from time to time so that they don’t abuse their position as mualaf.”

Perhaps, there have been an oversight on Firdaus’s end in view of his hectic routine to run an in-depth profile check to gauge the background or even sincerity of Muhammad Zain given the latter has demonstrated profound enthusiasm to embrace Islam as evidenced by the slew of WhatsApp exchanges between the duo.

This was revealed by some netizens who noticed that the so-called Muhammad Zain not only wore a Christian cross (after his purported conversion on April 20, 2025) but “actively shared with the public his interests in eating pork and many other things which are against the value of practicing Muslim” on his Threads page.

Perhaps former MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker summed up best – “Moral of the story (is) jangan terbuLU – buLU (sarcastic way of implying ‘don’t rush’) to convert minors or young unstable minds.” –  Focus Malaysia