MJMM President, Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah (centre), told Sinar Harian that lodging police reports had become almost a 'national duty' for him. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Abdul Rani Kulup, the quirky man with the red beret who often grabs headline for lodging police reports against activists and opposition leaders, says he has lodged up to 1,000 complaints since 2011 and declared that he is very proud of it.

The man who heads right wing Malay group Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM) told Sinar Harian that lodging police reports had become almost a “national duty” for him as he was called upon to do so to “save the country” from seditious and evil elements.

“We hear a lot of cases of insults hurled against religion (Islam), race and the country. We also hear a lot of cases which are seditious.

“Here MJMM’s role is to warn them not to continue to wreak havoc in this country. In the beginning I saw this (lodging police reports) as something normal because everyone else did the same but when we saw so many issues that can threaten national security MJMM was urged to lodge police reports,” Abdul Rani, a former drummer with a “pop yeah-yeah” band, was quoted saying

The burly man who has never been seen in public without his trademark sunglasses added jokingly that he is now known as the “report lodger” but maintained that he does so not out of personal interests, but because he felt Malaysians relied on him to take action against “the enemies of the country”.

“When we lodge police reports we are not influenced by anyone. We do it sincerely without getting paid by any parties be it NGOs or political parties,” he said.

Abdul Rani then said it was up to the police to act or not against the reports he lodged but noted that police have so far acted on most of the complaints.

“Police have taken action on a lot of the complaints I made so we cannot say they have not acted. With 1,000 reports, it is no wonder that I am called the ‘the king of report’ (sic),” he added.

Like its close-cousins Perkasa, MJMM is known for its anti-liberal stance and had in the past urged the authorities to punish activists and opposition leaders critical of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

The NGO also voiced its support for preventive detention laws and had also called on Putrajaya to reinstate the Internal Security Act, a colonial-inherited law often used to silence political critics prior to its abolition in 2012.

Abdul Rani claimed MJMM’s agenda is supported by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“He is an old-timer. His assertions are priceless. Every word he says is priceless. He said NGOs can do anything to help improve the country,” he was quoted as saying.