The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Hindraf and 18 others against the government for allegedly harbouring fugitive Muslim preacher Zakir Naik, from India, and granting him permanent resident (PR) status.
Lawyer Adnan Seman, who appeared for Malay rights group Perkasa that acted as an intervenor, said Justice Datin Azizah Nawawi found that Hindraf erred by failing to make Zakir a party to the action.
He added that the judge said it was imperative to involve the preacher as any decision in the case would “have an immediate impact on his life.”
“This is the reason the suit was struck out,” said Adnan.
The court also awarded costs of RM5,000 to the defendants in the suit.
The suit was filed on March 1 last year by Hindraf chairman P Waytha Moorthy, academic Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Sabah lawmaker Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, lawyers Siti Kassim and Asiah Abd Jalil, and Sarawak activist Peter John Jaban.
They were seeking two court declarations, including one to declare Zakir as a threat to Malaysia’s security and friendly relations between Malaysia and other countries, as well as a threat to public order in the country.
They also sought to declare Dr Zakir unfit to be a permanent resident of Malaysia.
The five listed as defendants in the judicial review are the government of Malaysia, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Immigration director-general, the National Registration Department, and the Inspector-General of Police.
Perkasa’s president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, who was present in court, said that with this decision he hoped that Zakir would be able to move freely and give sermons and lectures without being disturbed.
Counsel S Karthigesan who acted for the plaintiffs said his clients have instructed him to appeal the decision.
However, he said they will still not make Zakir party to the action.
“We will maintain what we have at the moment because the position of the things we filed; the issue is a threat to the security so it is not against the individual but rather on a public policy, national security is a matter of concerned citizen,” he said