KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians on X (formerly Twitter) are urging police to locate and nab an individual seen in a viral video desecrating a “Datuk Keramat” shrine and statue of the deity.
The clip, nearly 30-seconds long, has been circulating on social media since April 5 and shows the person making the recording, rambling as he moves around the shrine before kicking the deity’s statue.
The man speaking in the clip as he desecrates the shrine makes insinuations that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Inspector-General of Police are “scared” of “kafirs” to a point that “the honour of Islam is at stake”.
Buggers like this have been getting away on the premise of mental illnesses. Please help nab this rotting carcass of a disrespectful scum. pic.twitter.com/EyzmUPCDeW
— Dominic Damian JAN 1513 (@jan_1513) April 5, 2024
The Datuk Keramat deity is also known as Datuk Gong and Na Tuk Kong and is believed to be the local guardian spirit of a particular place. Its believers may include people of different ethnicities and other religions, and is described as a “Sino-Malay” spirit in some accounts.
It is not clear which X account first posted the video as it appears to have been downloaded and posted by more than one user. In one post, the clip has over 398,000 views and in another post, it has more than 587,000 views.
The clip has also received hundreds of reposts and bookmarks, and a cascade of angry comments against the perpetrator.
“The police have to investigate this (matter) and nabbed (the perpetrator). Crazy people like this must be nabbed, we can’t let this go (swept under the rug),” said one X user with the handle @GGarifazizi.
“Stop playing up racial-issues. You come to their holy place and you do such things. What if they came to yours (and do the same)? We’ll all be angry! So please, respect other people’s religion and people will respect ours,” said another.
The call for authorities continued with X user named Cody said “Things are getting out of hand… it is a matter of time”, while tagging the police, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail Nasution.
@fauzan_chong said: “This guy doesn’t know that (even) Allah has forbidden us from doing such (horrendous) things, (as said in) Surah Al An’am?”
@wendyyhy said “I do not believe that any religion has taught anyone to hate and discriminate against other people’s belief and religion. You have gone in the wrong direction, poor child.”
The video is among the several videos that have gone viral on X following uproar over the sale of socks with the word “Allah” printed on them at a KK Mart outlet last month. – April 7, 2024