The foreigner who stoked political chaos in Malaysia
CONTROVERSIAL Indian Muslim preacher Zakir Naik is on the wanted list in India due to his extreme religious remarks and alleged involvement in money laundering.
Many Muslim countries have denied him entry.
But he is well received in Malaysia by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
Within the coalition, however, there is a split because of him.
The sentiment on the ground is also divided in two, on racial and religious lines. One side has defended him, while the other side has asked for his repatriation.
As a Muslim preacher, Zakir is popular in the Muslim community.
He has his charm. While promoting Islam, he would degrade other religions, especially Hinduism and Christianity.
But, as a guest in Malaysia, he has crossed a red line.
If he was merely promoting Islam, no one would be against him. But he insults other religions in his speeches and makes racist remarks, questioning the loyalty of Malaysian Indians.
He has also described Malaysian Chinese as guests too.
This obviously runs against the constitution, which calls on people of all races and ethnic groups to live in harmony,.
Political leaders such as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman have condemned him for his improper remarks.
But he claimed that the content of his speech has been distorted and even issued legal notice to politicians such as human resources minister M Kulasegaran and Penang deputy chief minister II Dr P Ramasamy who slammed his remarks.
Police have since stepped in to investigate.
Zakir was banned from making public speeches.
Many states have also banned him from speaking.
Sensing the turn of events, Zakir apologised for his remarks.
He was called in by the police for interrogation, but no legal action has since been taken against him, and he is still free to move around in Malaysia.
The latest development is that he
has been invited to attend an event in Malacca.
Zakir is still well received among Muslim leaders and the Muslim community.
In fact, even though Dr Mahathir has criticised his racist remarks, this does not mean that he has changed his attitude towards Zakir.
Under international extradition rules, Malaysia should hand Zakir over to India to prove his innocence in the courts.
Under political need, Pribumi has followed Dr Mahathir on this matter.
Syed Saddiq, who earlier condemned Zakir, made a 180-degree turn in his attitude towards him. grateful to the government for allowing him to remain in Malaysia.
Anwar supported Dr Mahathir’s move of not extraditing Zakir and said he hoped that local organisations would stop holding rallies over the matter which would cause further racial tension.
Parti Amanah Negara secretarygeneral Mohd Anuar Mohd Tahr claimed in a statement that Zakir has been used as propaganda in order to incite hatred among ethnic groups and religions.
On the opposition side, former prime minister Najib Razak, who granted Zakir permanent residency, has been extremely low profile on this matter.
Najib assumed Zakir was someone convenient for him to garner Malays’ support as well.
PAS president Hadi Awang shares the same stance as Dr Mahathir on his refusal to repatriate Zakir and claims the move is in line with the Geneva Convention.
Hadi also accused the Democratic Action Party, one of the coalition members of Pakatan Rakyat, of playing up the issue.
Nik Abduh, vice-president of PAS, said the Muslims who want to expel Zakir are hypocrites, while those non-Muslims are traitors and enemies of Islam.
All these clearly show that Zakir commands value in the politics of Malaysia.
Even if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a request for Zakir to be extradited during his talks with Dr Mahathir in Russia recently, the Malaysian leader remains unmoved.
Racial ties among ethnic groups in Malaysia are deteriorating.
Even if political power has changed hands, the situation remains the same and is even more challenging now.
It is time for PH to look after the interests of Malaysians and not to comply with extremism.
People who incite hatred ought to be stopped. PH should revoke Zakir’s permanent residency and expel him to prevent racial and religious harmony from being damaged.