A lawyer for Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik has dismissed social media claims that he has been diagnosed with AIDS.
“As I told you, it is rubbish, fake news and absolutely no truth in it,” his lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kadir told Malaysiakini, adding that Zakir is currently abroad.
The claims alleged that Zakir was hospitalised at a private medical facility after being diagnosed with the disease.
Zakir, an Indian national with permanent resident status in Malaysia, came under police investigation in 2019 after controversial remarks against the Chinese and Indian communities sparked over 100 police reports.
At the time, he was quoted as saying: “You know someone called me a guest. So I said, before me, the Chinese were the guests. If you want the new guest to go first, ask the old guest to go back. The Chinese aren’t born here, most of them. Maybe the new generations, yes. If you want the guest to go back, and those guests which are bringing peace in the community, they are benefit for the family.”
He had also claimed that Indian Malaysians appeared to trust the Indian government more than then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Following the backlash, a ban was imposed on him speaking in public. Earlier this year, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail clarified that the ban was put in place in 2019 while investigations into Zakir were ongoing.
Despite this, Zakir appeared as a guest speaker at a religious ceramah in Perlis on 2 February.