City
Epaper

Zakir Naik in soup over racial speeches in Malaysia

By IANS | Updated: August 19, 2019 15:15 IST

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who was granted permanent residency in Malaysia after he fled India on being charged with giving inflammatory speeches, has been barred from holding religious talks in several Malaysian states.

Open in App

Naik, who has been living in Malaysia for the last three years, is in the limelight for his remarks against non-Muslim minorities, especially the Chinese and Hindus in Malaysia.

Seven states - Melaka, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak - have decided to bar the controversial preacher from speaking in public.

Malaysia's former police chief Rahim Noor has urged the government to rescind his Permanent Resident (PR) status and return him to India.

"Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had commented that the government will consider rescinding his PR status if it is proven that he has committed criminal offences," Noor was quoted as saying.

In his racial comments, Naik had said that Hindus in Malaysia get "100 times more rights" than the Muslim minority gets in India, and yet they support the "Prime Minister of India and not the Prime Minister of Malaysia".

Despite facing calls for deportation by multiple parties, Naik called on the Malaysian Chinese to "go back" first as they were the "old guests" of the country.

"Later on, more people came and Malaysia became fully Muslim. Then you have the Chinese coming, the Indian coming, the British coming. They are our new guests.

"People call me a guest. So I said, before me, the Chinese were the guests. They aren't born here. If you want the new guest to go first, (then) ask the old guests to go back.

"The Chinese weren't born here, most of them. Maybe the new generation, yes.

"If you want the guest to go back and those guest which (sic) are bringing peace in the community, they are benefit (sic) for the family," he said while addressing a religious talk last week.

Prime Minister Mahathir has said that Naik should stay away from making political speeches in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Prime Minister, who has backed the Muslim scholar several times before, said the preacher has gone too far with his recent racial comments.

Naik is wanted in India in cases of financial irregularities and hate speech.

Malaysia's impatience with Naik also comes days after Malaysian Minister P. Waytha Moorthy, special envoy of the Prime Minister, visited India and met Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: MalaysiaindiaNaikMahathir MohamadP Waytha Moorthy
Open in App

Related Stories

MumbaiViral Sighting of Tesla Cybertruck Near Mumbai Stirs EV Enthusiasm (Photos)

NationalPM Narendra Modi Discusses Tech and Innovation Collaboration With Elon Musk

NationalTahawwur Rana Extradition: Pakistan Distances Itself From 26/11 Accused After Arrival in India

NationalIndia Expands Rafale Power: Rs 64,000 Crore Deal Cleared for Navy Fighter Jets

NationalHeatwave in India: Maharashtra, Gujarat Experience Unbearable Night and Day Time Temperature, Bengaluru Likely to Witness Rain

International Realted Stories

InternationalPakistan: BYC leaders start hunger strike against mistreatment of group leaders

InternationalFBI arrests Wisconsin judge for allegedly obstructing immigration agents

InternationalSenior Russian General killed in car explosion near Moscow

InternationalIndian Embassy in Germany pays tribute to Pahalgam attack victims

InternationalTerrorists "achieved their objective of killing humanity": UK MP Rami Ranger on Pahalgam attack