Zakir Naik’s fate not for one man to decide, says DAP minister

Kulasegaran says it is for the courts to decide, and any formal extradition request from India will be dealt with according to the law.

(FMT) – A DAP leader today said he and two other ministers had raised the issue of Zakir Naik during the Cabinet meeting, following Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that the Indian Muslim preacher would not be deported to his home country. 

Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran also said he would even raise the matter with the Indian leadership.

“I assure the people that when I go to India and if I have the chance to meet the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I will discuss this matter with him as well,” he said.

Saying Naik’s fate should be decided by the courts and not “a single individual or the government”, Kulasegaran added that Putrajaya would “follow the rule of law” should New Delhi submit a request for deportation. 

“But the bottom line is that the Indian government must make that request,” he said, adding that fellow ministers Gobind Singh Deo and Xavier Jayakumar had also raised the issue at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

“We discussed it and concluded that we will ask the attorney-general if there is any formal request from India,” said the Ipoh Barat MP.

He said it was not wrong for Mahathir to say that Naik would not be deported as long as he did not create trouble.

He said such a stance was “in accordance with the rule of law”.

Naik is wanted by Indian authorities over allegations of money laundering and terrorism. The preacher has denied the charges, saying he is a victim of Indian media sensationalising the issue to gain a bigger audience.