CONTROVERSIAL Muslim preacher Zakir Naik will not be extradited to India as long as there is no request from his home country, said Muhyiddin Yassin today.

The Home minister said neither his ministry nor the Foreign Affairs Ministry have received the request from the Indian government.

“We have not received any official request to extradite him. As long as there is not official request, we are not going to take action or make any decision,” he told reporters at the ministry’s Hari Raya open house today.

He was responding to India, which said last Wednesday, it would continue to pursue its request for Zakir’s extradition.

This came two days after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia has the right to not extradite Zakir as the fugitive evangelist has claimed he will not get a fair trial in India.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar asserted that the fairness of his country’s justice system has never been in question.

“India has extradition arrangements with many nations. In the past, there are numerous cases of successful extradition to India.

“The fairness of the Indian justice system has never been in question,” Kumar was quoted as saying in a report by The Economic Times.

“India has made a formal request for the extradition of Zakir Naik. We will continue to pursue the matter with Malaysia.”

Zakir’s status in Malaysia has come under scrutiny after a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai, India, ordered him to physically appear in court on July 31, The Times of India reported yesterday.

The court said a non-bailable warrant will be issued against Zakir if he fails to show up.

The court made the ruling following an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate seeking a non-bailable warrant against the preacher, who is a permanent resident in Malaysia.

He is facing charges of inciting communal disharmony and committing unlawful activities in India, the report added.

Last Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said Malaysia would not send back Zakir if there was no request from the Indian government. – June 20, 2019.