PETALING JAYA: Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran has called for action to be taken against controversial preacher Zakir Naik “for questioning the loyalty of Hindu Malaysians”.
“Zakir is an outsider who is a fugitive and has little knowledge of the Malaysian history, therefore, he should not be given such privilege to run down Malaysians, what more question their loyalty to the country,“ said Kulasegaran in a statement today.
Kulasegaran pointed out that so far, Zakir has not shown any sign that he deserves a permanent resident status in the country.
“This matter (Zakir issue) will be brought in the next cabinet meeting,” he added.
Kulasegaran then questioned if Zakir was attempting to sow seeds of discord among Malaysia’s multi-religious society so as to continue enjoying immunity and privileges by obtaining the support of the Muslim community.
This comes after Zakir’s most recent talk in which he claimed that Hindus in Malaysia are more loyal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Is Zakir also leveraging the current polemics related to race and religion in the country for his biased survival and benefits via the taxpayers’ money?” asked Kulasegaran.
The Ipoh Barat MP then urged the Rakyat to unite and safeguard the peace and stability of the nation by exposing Zakir’s strategy of using religious and racial sentiments in a tolerant and harmonious country.
“It’s time for this fugitive foreigner to leave Malaysia and face charges of terrorism and money laundering charges in India,“ said Kulasegaran.
“This further seems to co-relate the Umno/PAS tactics that destabilise the Pakatan Harapan coalition government through ethnoreligious sentiments,“ he added.
Zakir is wanted in his home country, India, on charges of money laundering and has been accused of inciting extremism.
He reportedly gained Saudi citizenship after India stripped him of his passport but continues to reside in Malaysia after being accorded permanent resident status in 2015.
India has requested to extradite Zakir, but Malaysia has refused this on the grounds the preacher might not receive if goes home.
Last month, Mahathir admitted that Malaysia is not keen for Zakir to be here, but is hard-pressed to deport him elsewhere as “many countries” will not accept the controversial Islamic preacher either.
