MARANG: A man who recently stumbled upon an unidentified 8kg object on Pantai Kelulut here has found himself being pursued by various parties seeking fragments of the mystery find.
Mahmud Kechik, who found the object in February, said he is being pursued by Kampung Rhu Muda residents in a bid to obtain fragments of the object for use as love potions, amulets and lucky charms for their businesses.
Mahmud said many people had approached him since the object went viral on social media.
"Although the object has not been confirmed to be whale vomit, it still captured the interest of many people.
"They are willing to come from far away to get small fragments of the object for various purposes," he said when met at his house today.
He said the object remained a mystery.
"I placed the object in the water to preserve its freshness and will bring it to the laboratory of the Field Research Centre of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) in the near future," he said.
The centre's science officer, Asrul Azani Mahmood, said they would analyse the object to identify it.
"I have contacted Mahmud regarding this matter and obtained his consent to analyse the object.
"Based on the shape of the object, it appears to be whale vomit, but it cannot be confirmed until detailed studies and analysis are conducted," he said.