KUALA LUMPUR – Police will take action regarding a viral video of preacher Ustaz Firdaus Wong giving advice on converting children to Islam, according to activist Arun Dorasamy.
At a press conference held at the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall today, Arun revealed that he filed a police report about the video at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters yesterday.
Following this, an investigating officer informed him that an arrest would be made. However, Arun has not been informed who will be arrested.
Arun urged concerned parents to file their own police reports to ensure authorities take action on the issue of covert religious conversions in schools.
He also called on the federal government to condemn Firdaus and urged Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to ban the preacher from speaking at public education institutions.
At the same press conference, non-governmental organisation Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) president Shahi Kumar criticised Putrajaya’s silence on the matter, suggesting that their inaction implies approval.
He highlighted that the issue of converting minors in schools is ongoing and that public outrage only surfaced because Firdaus’ video went viral.
“It has been 11 days and numerous press statements, but until today, the Education Ministry, police, and Attorney-General’s Chambers have not done anything,” Shashi said.
“Is this the Reformasi the government has been speaking of? By keeping quiet, they are allowing it to happen.”
Last week, a TikTok video of Firdaus explaining to a man how preachers can help children curious about Islam convert without their families’ knowledge went viral, leading to online backlash.
In a brief conversation with Scoop, Firdaus suggested that the attacks against him were hypocritical, noting that children convert to other religions as well, and public anger arises only when Islam is involved. – June 11, 2024