'God University' founder held
By Joseph Sipalan, Tan Sin Chow and A. Raman
The Star/Asia News Network
Saturday, Apr 20, 2013
A leader of a deviationist sect has been detained by religious authorities in Pahang for allegedly setting up a university to spread his teachings among his followers.
Harian Metro reported that the leader of the Tuhan Harun sect who also refers to himself as "Tuhan 2013" had been running the Universal Overhead God University, offering three levels of studies based on a curriculum which he had drawn up.
Pahang Islamic Department enforcement officer Mohd Raffli Abd Malik was quoted as saying that the so-called university offered entry-level courses for new followers, doctorate-level studies for mid-level followers and a "Doctor World of God" level for senior followers.
"Our preliminary investigations found that the 47-year-old man had 312 followers across the country," he said.
Aside from allegedly pushing teachings that deviated from the tenets of Islam, the suspect was also sought by Bank Negara for his alleged involvement in fraudulent activities since 2006, with losses amounting to RM200million (S$81 million).
Tuhan 2013 also allegedly formed two organisations to raise funds for his activities under the guise of running Islamic and welfare programmes.
