Muslim preacher Zamihan Mat Zin was arrested at the Dang Wangi police headquarters at 3.50pm yesterday and will be investigated under the Sedition Act.
- Allegedly insulted Johor Sultan
- Called the Chinese “unhygienic”
- Has a track record of targetting Christians and moderate Muslims
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said “the necessary action” would be taken against the Pertubuhan Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah Malaysia (Aswaja) president.
“It is a normal process which I cannot elaborate on,” he told reporters.
Zamihan allegedly said in a video that has gone viral that it was wrong of Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar to prohibit a Muslim-only launderette from operating in the state.
This came after the Johor Sultan said he was unhappy with a “Muslim-only” launderette operating in the state. The launderette owner later apologised and opened his door to all customers.
In the same video, he made racist remarks about the Chinese, calling them “unhygienic” for not washing up after urinating and defecating, and for consuming alcohol and pork.
Following criticism for his comments, Zamihan denied he was rude to the Johor Sultan. Nevertheless, he issued an apology to the ruler.
He also lashed out at the media, claiming he had been slandered.
In a statement yesterday, he said he would take legal action against news portals, as well as former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, if they did not retract and publicly apologise to him for their articles on the video.
He claimed he never mentioned the name of the Johor Sultan and neither did he use any abusive or seditious words.
The Star reported yesterday that Zamihan has a history of targetting Christians, liberal Muslims and even moderate Islamic non-governmental organisations such as Sisters in Islam.
He has a series of video clips uploaded to the ‘OnLine Majlis Ilmu’ YouTube channel, which has more than 27,000 subscribers.
Last December, he had claimed that it was wrong for Muslims to wish Christians “Merry Christmas” because Christians were “kafirs” (infidels).
“Let them call us racists.
“We are crude and tough on this matter because this is about akidah (creed),” he said.
Zamihan also urged the audience in his YouTube channel to not follow the teachings of moderate Islam, which he labelled as “narrow”.
“They don’t even know a thing about Christians, and they want to say that ‘It’s okay, we are a pluralistic, multiracial and multi-ethnic country, so we must be open’,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmrQB6oCRk0
In one video, the preacher labelled lawyer and activist Siti Kassim an apostate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGX_QgyCANk