NGO leader denies LTTE links, lodges report against Zakir Naik student
Malaysian Tamilar Kural NGO president David Mashal has denied being a supporter of the now-defunct separatist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.
David said the accusation against him and the NGO he headed was made by one Firdaus Wong Wai Hung in a Facebook post on Aug 13.
Malaysian Tamilar Kural NGO president David Marshel has denied being a supporter of the now-defunct separatist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.
Marshel said the accusation against him and the NGO he headed was made by one Firdaus Wong Wai Hung in a Facebook post on Aug 13.
At the time of writing, the post has garnered 2,700 shares and the comments from netizens criticising Marshel is mounting.
Firdaus, a religious motivational speaker, is known to be a student of embattled preacher Zakir Naik, who has been banned from preaching nationwide until a police investigation against him for allegedly creating racial disharmony is completed.
In July, Firdaus created waves when he was accused of "subtle preaching" at the SMK Lunas secondary school in Kulim but the Ministry of Education denied that the event had racial or religious elements.
"LTTE is no longer in existence after Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009 so how can I be a supporter? Besides, we never had links with such a group," Marshel told Malaysiakini today.
He said that Firdaus had also alleged that the Malaysian Tamilar Kural was aligned to the terrorist group, a claim the Seberang Perai Municipal councillor vehemently denied.
"In his Facebook, Firdaus linked Malaysian Tamilar Kural's logo to the LTTE. Our logo depicts the flower gloriosa superaba and Firdaus came to the conclusion that it belonged to LTTE," said Marshel, who is DAP Batu Kawan secretary.
"But gloriosa superaba is a flower that is easily found in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand," he added.
Marshel said he was upset that Firdaus had also hurled "insulting comments" against him and his NGO.
Following Firdaus' post, many netizens lambasted Marshel with angry comments on social media.
Marshel said he has lodged a police report on the matter at the Bukit Mertajam police station to urge the police to probe the Facebook post and take action against Firdaus if necessary.
"I fear for the safety of me and my family. I am undergoing mental and emotional stress due to this slander and lies," said Marshel.
He said he was giving Firdaus 48 hours to remove his post or he would initiate legal action adding that he has also lodged a report with the MCMC.
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