The government should revoke Zakir Naik’s Permanent Resident (PR) status and return him to India, says Tan Sri Rahim Noor.
The former Inspector-General of Police urged the Pakatan Harapan government to do so given what he has done in his home country as well as in Malaysia.
“Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had commented that the government will consider rescinding his PR status if it is proven that he has committed criminal offences.
“Based on this statement, it looks like we must wait for the outcome of the investigation. However, my personal view is he had touched on religion and other matters that hurt the feelings of non-Muslims in the country, especially the Hindus. We should not wait for the outcome of the investigation.
Rahim said he is aware that certain parties might disagree with his view but they must ask themselves why there are many Islamic figures in India who are not facing legal problems except Zakir.
“There must be something that he did in his home country that is against the law as he was put on the wanted list by Indian authorities.
“We don’t need foreigners to come here and use religion to incite chaos and trouble.
“Do we need these type of people? To me, it is a big no,” he said.
Rahim said he does not see any political ramifications on the part of the ruling government or opposition parties if the controversial speaker was sent back to India.
“(The government) should tell him to go back to India and face the laws there.
“He must be responsible for his actions and face it, as the Malay says, “berani buat, berani tanggung” (reap what you sow).
“The country should not be a “pak sanggup” (to blindly accept) in taking him in as we have no shortage of Islamic experts or scholars in the country,” he said.
Rahim said as a patriot, he felt deeply hurt that a foreigner, who was granted PR, had the nerve to utter comments that could incite trouble among Malaysians of different religion and race.
“It only shows that he does not respect our way of life. Malaysians live in peace while respecting each other’s beliefs and ethnicity,” he said.
Rahim also questioned why Zakir was granted PR status in 2015, given that he was wanted by the Indian government as well as his history of touching on sensitive matters that offended worshipers of other religions.
“How can such a foreigner be granted PR in the blink of an eye. To my knowledge, it’ll take years for someone to be given PR status, despite his or her contribution to the economy or social causes.
“I also wonder whether proper due diligence and thorough background checks were conducted by the authorities before the PR was approved. Zakir is wanted by the Indian authorities in connection with his activities that infringed on the laws there and yet why did our country easily accept him then?
“I find it strange that the then government, approved his arrival in Malaysia and subsequently granted him PR,” he said.
Yesterday, Mahathir said that Zakir has ventured into “racial politics” with his remarks.
He said Zakir can preach, but he was not allowed to talk about politics.
He added that “it was quite clear” Zakir had attempted to incite racial hate.
Mahathir said Zakir overstepped the line when he told ethnic Chinese to “go back first” and questioned the loyalty of Malaysian-Indians in two separate instances, calling the Mumbai-born preacher’s words incendiary.
He also said Zakir had transgressed his privilege as a foreigner with PR status by issuing political statements, and that he backs police investigation against the Indian fugitive.
The prime minister’s comment is likely the strongest censure made so far towards the controversial preacher.
“He’s now trying to play up racial politics. He told the Malays to ask the Chinese and Indians to go back (to China and India) if he is asked to leave.
“Even I have never touched on such issues but he is doing it,” Mahathir said in reference to Zakir’s recent comments that the two communities were not loyal to Malaysia.
Mahathir also said he did not know who gave Zakir permanent residence status.
Zakir continues to be probed in Bukit Aman today, after more than 100 police reports were filed against him.
He is facing police investigation under Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.
Mahathir was previously reluctant to deport the Indian national, saying he may not receive a fair trial there.
Yesterday, he acknowledged that what Zakir said is bad.
Mahathir had also recently hinted that Zakir could have his PR status revoked by Putrajaya should it be proven that his actions have harmed the country’s well-being.
The prime minister said the government would first wait for the result of the police investigation into the fugitive preacher’s alleged inflammatory remarks against minorities in this country, before deciding the next course of action.