Keep your mouth shut, Nur Jazlan tells Zamihan

JOHOR BARU: Telling controversial Muslim preacher Zamihan Mat Zin to shut up, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed warned that his role to rehabilitate Daesh militant detainees at the Tapah Prison in Perak will be revoked if he continutes to make offensive statements.

Nur Jazlan said the ministry was disappointed with the preacher’s actions as he had time and time again challenged religion and the royal institution.

After making hurtful comments against various parties, he said Zamihan had criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for proposing to allocate 16ha of land in Putrajaya for the King Salman Centre for International Peace to counter terrorism.

“He should keep his mouth shut and think before speaking to refrain from sensationalising matters. Otherwise we will have to re-evalu- ate his role,” Nur Jazlan said during a breakfast session with voters at Taman Cempaka here yesterday.

He said the ministry was not questioning the preacher’s ability in rehabilitating militants but his actions.

“As a government servant, he should know that every word he utters reflects the image and integrity of the ministry and the government,” he said.

Nur Jazlan said Zamihan should hold his tongue after getting the backing from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who recently said the Government still needed the preacher to help rehabilitate Daesh militant detainees.

In an Oct 23 video, Zamihan was filmed criticising Najib and questioning the need to depend on Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism.

Meanwhile, Nur Jazlan said his ministry would discuss with the Transport Ministry to come up with laws to regulate the usage of surveillance devices, including drones, CCTV and sound detectors.

He said drones weighing 25kg and more were subject to licensing under the Transport Ministry but there were no regulations on lighter ones.

“This concerns the public’s safety and privacy as the usage of drones widens. Now there are smaller drones which can fly everywhere and to a height of up to 1,000 feet.

“This not only poses a privacy risk, it can potentially endanger lives and interrupt flights during take-off and landing,” said Nur Jazlan.