Preacher Zakir Naik should be expelled over religious remarks, say Malaysian ministers

The controversial televangelist came under fire recently for saying Hindus in Malaysia had ‘100 times more rights’ than the Muslim minority in India

Three Malaysian ministers said Naik’s comments may have been aimed at driving a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia, an allegation that Naik denied

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Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Photo: Alamy

Published: 7:30pm, 14 Aug 2019Updated: 10:36pm, 14 Aug 2019

Three Malaysian ministers have demanded for an Islamic preacher from India to be expelled from the multi-ethnic nation for allegedly making religiously sensitive remarks, as cabinet discussed his permanent residency on Wednesday.

Zakir Naik, 53, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India, recently came under fire for commenting that Hindus in the country had “100 times more rights” than the Muslim minority in India.

Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, where Muslims make up about 60 per cent of its 32 million people. The rest of the population consists mostly of ethnic Chinese as well as Indians, the majority of whom are Hindus.

The ministers said Naik’s comments may have been aimed at driving a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia, an allegation that Naik denied.

“We have expressed our position, which is that action must be taken and that Zakir Naik should no longer be allowed to remain in Malaysia,” Gobind Singh Deo, minister of communications and multimedia, said in a statement.

“The prime minister has taken note of our concerns. We leave it to him to consider the position and to decide soonest possible what will be done to deal with the problem,” he added.

M Kulasegaran, minister of human resources, and Xavier Jayakumar, minister of water, land and natural resources, also released statements urging Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to expel Naik.