Ramasamy: How can Ridhuan Tee call himself academician if he can’t even get his figures right?

Focus Malaysia:

Ramasamy: How can Ridhuan Tee call himself academician if he can’t even get his figures right?

AS much as he does not wish to take the views of controversial convert Muslim preacher Prof Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah seriously, political scientist Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy reckoned that a reply is warranted given the former’s erroneous portrayal of the Malaysian Indian community from a population and religious stand-point.


This follows claims by the lecturer of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in Kuala Terengganu that “the 300,000 (Hindu) temples built in the country do not match their (Indian) population of just 1.5 million”.

Following his claim, Ridhuan insinuated that the number of Hindu temples in Malaysia is 10-fold that of the approximately 33,000 surau and mosques nationwide.


“On what basis did Ridhuan determine the population of Hindus or Indians to be around 1.5 million?” Ramasamy who himself taught political science at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) from 1981 to 2005 told FocusM.

Added the former DAP stalwart who is now the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council chairman:

“Rough estimates put the Indian population in the country at more than 3 million although the official conservative figure is around 2.5 million. If Ridhuan cannot even get his figures right, then how can he say that there are around 300,000 temples (in Malaysia)?

Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy

“I would like to know how and from where he derived the above figure. The same thing goes for his estimation of mosques and surau in the country.”

Ramasamy further wondered if it has been “just a figment of his (Ridhuan’s) wild imagination, always without fail trying to paint a negative picture of non-Muslims and their places of worship”.

“If temples are located on state lands, then it is the responsibility of the respective state governments to resolve the matter amicably,” justified the former Penang chief minister II and Perai state assemblyman.

“Ridhuan shouldn’t be a busybody indulging in matters that are not his concern. I don’t think that the country needs rabble rousers like Ridhuan to dabble in sensitive matters like questioning the legality of Hindu temples.”

Added Ramasamy: “I know that given the racially charged atmosphere in the country, being a convert is no easy matter for Ridhuan. He has to bend over backwards to appease the conservative sections of the Malay-Muslim community.

“Anyway, before Ridhuan refurbishes his religious credentials, he has yet to clear the air about the serious allegations of plagiarism against him.” – Feb 19, 2024

😁😂😅😆😊