Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) told the Dewan Rakyat the commission appears to be staying silent on issues involving racial discrimination and religious freedom.

“Why wasn’t there any response from Suhakam regarding this issue (involving Firdaus)? Suhakam would surely be aware that religious freedom is the universal right of all Malaysians, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims,” said the PKR MP.

Hassan said Suhakam needed to take more responsibility in speaking out on human rights issues, adding that he personally viewed Firdaus’s remarks very seriously as a Muslim.

“His actions have caused concern and alarm among non-Muslims in Malaysia,” he said.

Firdaus is being investigated after a video of him allegedly giving a man instructions on how to handle requests from minors wishing to secretly convert to Islam went viral.

The independent preacher also purportedly advised how children could pray in secret and hide their conversion from their parents.

Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan had said Firdaus had essentially confessed to converting minors by claiming that he was used to handling such cases.

Firdaus is being probed under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code for making a statement with intent to incite hatred.

Petaling Jaya police chief Shahrulnizam Jaafar had said that four police reports were lodged against the preacher while three people have given their statements.