Datuk Gong Placed At Surau Man Reports Statue Missing From His House

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A statue of a deity, also known as "Datuk Gong", which was placed at the entrance of a surau in Port Klang yesterday, was purportedly stolen from a house located about 50m from the surau
The discovery of the statue had sparked an outrage among the local community there who deemed the act as an attempt to sully the Muslim place of worship
A committee member of the Sabilul Huda surau had lodged a police report on the matter yesterday, as confirmed by South Klang district police chief Shamsul Amar Ramli
"About 4.15pm yesterday, the complainant saw a 'Datuk Gong' at the door of the surau when he was about to go in to perform his prayers," Shamsul said
Police are investigating the case under Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling a place of worship with intention to insult the religion
Subsequently, police received a report from a 50-year-old man who lives nearby the surau, claiming that his 'Datuk Gong' statue had gone missing
"The last time the complainant saw the idol was at about 4pm yesterday after he cleaned it. The distance between the complainant's house and the surau is about 50m."Shamsul (in photo) said that according to the report filed by the purported owner today, the 'Datuk Gong', which is worth about RM300, was placed outside his house near the front gate, which was unlocked
The video and images of statue at the entrance of the surau have gone viral on social media
The incident also caught the attention of Perkasa, which issued a statement on the matter
Selangor Perkasa president Borhan Ahmad Zakaria said the incident is an insult to Islam as the official religion and claimed that certain quarters were up to create racial tension in Klang
"Selangor Perkasa strongly condemns this act and hopes that the police will take immediate steps in taking action against the responsible individual," said Borhan
He urged Pakatan Harapan to act on the matter before it escalates and affects the unity in the country. Meanwhile, the National Unity and Integration Department, in a statement later, said it would meet with the surau management and the neighbourhood watch to ensure the matter is settled amicably. "The department will also work with the police and the surau management so that the safety of the surau, and the housing area is preserved. "We urge the public to not speculate regarding the incident, pending police investigations." - Mkini

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