Man held over idol incident

Suspect claims a dream caused him to place statues at surau

KLANG: A 37-year-old man has been detained in connection with two incidents of idols found at the Sabilul Huda surau in Taman Pendamar, Klang.

“We believe the suspect placed one idol at the mosque on Wednesday and two other smallersized idols on Saturday.

“The idols may have been stolen from nearby temples,” said South Klang OCPD Asst Comm Shamsul Amar Ramli.

The man claimed he had dreamt that the Kaabah in Mecca was surrounded by idols and that he needed to do the same for the surau.

He also said he had learnt deviant teachings in a neighbouring country.

The man was detained at his home some 200m from the mosque.

ACP Shamsul Amar said in a press conference yesterday that the man had tested positive for syabu.

“We are not ruling out the possibility that the suspect is mentally unstable. He has a criminal record.

“We will investigate the matter further,” he added.

ACP Shamsul Amar also stressed that the incidents at the surau were the act of one man and had nothing to do with insulting Islam or inciting racial or religious hatred.

At an event in Kota Baru, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun urged all houses of worship in the country to install closed circuit television (CCTV) to curb crimes in such locations.

“All state and district police chiefs have also been instructed to closely monitor religious issues that might incite the anger of society,” he said at a press conference.

Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had previously condemned the irresponsible act at the mosque and said police had received several reports on the matter.

Last Wednesday, the residents of Taman Pendamar were shocked to find an idol placed next to the main entrance of the Sabilul Huda surau.

The idol was discovered by a surau official, who was preparing for asar prayers.