[Watch] Datuk Kong Altar Bearing Islamic Calligraphy Leads To Arrest In Perlis

A hardware shop owner in Seriab, Kangar, was arrested and released on police bail after a small Datuk Gong shrine on his premises was found to bear the word “Allah” in Arabic script.

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A 61-year-old hardware shop owner in Perlis has been released on police bail after being arrested in connection with the discovery of the word “Allah” in Arabic script on a small shrine on his premises in Seriab, near Kangar, Perlis.

The man was detained by officers from the Criminal Investigation Division at the Kangar District Police Headquarters at around 3 pm on Saturday (3 May).

He was released on bail the following day, according to Kangar district police chief ACP Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop.

Investigations are ongoing.

The case will be referred to the State Prosecution Director (Pengarah Pendakwaan Negeri) upon completion of the investigation paper.

The case is being investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code, which covers uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings, and Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955.

Perlis police chief Datuk Muhammad Abdul Halim said the report was lodged at 2.30 pm the same day of the arrest after a member of the public viewed a video of the shrine on the Facebook page “Saya Anak Perlis.”

NGO And UMNO Youth File Reports, Cite Threat To Racial Harmony

A day before (4 May), a representative of Pertubuhan Bai’hu Malaysia Perlis, Sazeli Saad, 45, filed a police report at the Kangar District Police Headquarters, along with a separate report filed by an individual.

Sazeli said the group acted after the post went viral on social media.

“The holy name of Allah cannot be used arbitrarily in a shrine by those outside the Islamic faith,” he said, adding that the display risked undermining racial harmony in Perlis and Malaysia.

Kangar UMNO Youth chief Saiful Fariddil Jasmi said his division would also file a police report to enable further investigation, and called on authorities to determine the motive behind the act.

Police Caution Public As Investigations Continue

At the same time, Yusharifuddin urged the public to refrain from speculation or sharing the video, warning that doing so could affect public harmony.

He said police take seriously any act capable of disturbing public order and would act firmly against those involved.

The shrine is associated with Datuk Gong — also written as Na Tuk Kong or 拿督公 — a local guardian spirit or land spirit venerated primarily by Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore and parts of Indonesia.

The belief incorporates elements of Malay folk tradition alongside Taoism and Buddhism, and altars linked to the practice sometimes feature Arabic script as a marker of the spirit’s perceived Malay identity.