PLOT twist or otherwise, karma has perhaps shown its true colours by siding Malaysian Hindus after controversial Muslim convert preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung admitted to having personally converted suspect of the Quran trampling case some 11 months ago.
While it remains fishy as to why it took the Multiracial Revert Muslims (MRM) founder one week to unveil the truth during which anger has inevitably been directed at Indians of Hindu faith, the narratives have someone been altered, ie the culprit must be severely punished whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim.
“Before the full facts were known, many individuals rushed to associate the act with the Indian community as a whole,” recounted political activist Diccam Lourdes in a Facebook post.
“Harsh words, insults and disrespectful remarks were directed broadly at Indians, creating unnecessary tension and division among Malaysians. Such reactions are unfair, irresponsible and dangerous to our multi-racial harmony.”
Added the DAP Socialist Youth’s (DAPSY) Seputeh chairman: “Now that it has been revealed that the individual involved is a Muslim convert, we can clearly see how quickly narratives change when assumptions are proven wrong.”
That the truth on the Quran trampling incident has finally surfaced on the back of another thorny issue facing the Hindus – accusations of erecting illegal houses of worship a.k.a. kuil haram – has interestingly prompted Hindu faithful to profess the power of divine intervention.
“You play your game, God play another game,” jibed one commenter with calls reverberating for those who have blatantly implicated Hindus in the matter to apologise.
While rational members of the Indian community sought to seek harsh punishment on the suspect in regardless of race and religion, the less forgiving ones continued to harp on the law of karma and “the eventual consequences of breaking more temples”.
How the truth unfolds?
To be fair, Firdaus has his fair share of trolling from detractors are after he admitted to having personally converted the suspect in the centre of the Quran trampling incident only a week after public uproar has erupted.
It started with his first Facebook post about 5pm yesterday (March 2) when he revealed that the individual who sparked nationwide furore for trampling the holy Quran, Vikneswaran Selvanathan is a Muslim whom he personally converted om April 20 last year.
“His Muslim name is Muhammad Zain. He’s a good boy. He’s polite and soft spoken,” the independent preacher penned on his FB page.
“He contacted me on Instagram and sent me messages repeatedly, ‘insisting’ and chasing me to convert him to Islam.”
“Honestly, I am shocked at what happened to him. Did someone instigate or provoked him or maybe it was something else. I also want to understand & help. 
”
Editor’s Note: Apparently, the suspect from Kuantan will be charged on two counts today (March 3), according to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
He will be charged under section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling an object considered sacred, namely the Quran, by stepping on it which act was done with the knowledge that it was an insult to the religion of Islam.
Additionally, he also faces another charge under section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for making and initiating a communication of an extremely obscene nature with the intention of offending another person through the Threads application.
In a subsequent FB post, the 43-year-old Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur-raised Firdaus who himself converted to Islam at the age of 22, denied that he was not trying “to purify” Muhammad Zain/Vikneswaran in his earlier social media status.
“There is no such term of purifying anyone who commits a crime because my principle as a Muslim is that the guilty parties must be punished regardless of whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim,” stressed Firdaus who is also the founder of Malay language news portal, The Merdeka Times.
“My principle is consistent with the words of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala in Surah An-Nisa 4:135.”
Answering immense queries as to why he sat on the very truth that the 21-year-old suspect is a mualaf (Muslim convert), Firdaus claimed that he was too bogged down by the kuil haram activism, the enforcement action on MRM tent by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and his own business till he hardly slept.
Firstly, I’m aware of the issue but not in depth. When I don’t have time to study a matter in depth, I prefer to remain silent rather than write as the Prophet SAW said, “speak well or remain silent”.
More importantly, I’m not the “done enter the scene: type by rushing to comment on all the issues like some people.
As social media is my activism platform, I need to write responsibly and factually instead of simply whacking for the sake of gaining engagement.
Whether he’s Muslim or not is not a criterion because if he’s guilty, he needs to be punished regardless of his religion, race & political party. Full stop.
In his latest FB post (at the time of writing), Firdaus went on to share screenshots of his WhatsApp shot with the suspect which dated back to June 19, 2024, including the latter having requested Firdaus to present him with a copy of the holy Quran.
- focus malaysia
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