MUSLIM preacher Zakir Naik from India is barred from speaking on all media, including on social media, Inspector-General of Police said Abdul Hamid Bador.

He said the ban against speaking in public in Malaysia applied until police investigations have concluded.

“Police have issued a directive prohibiting Zakir from giving further talks after a recent episode in Kelantan. This is to give us the time to investigate the reports filed by several parties pertaining to the said episode, Hamid told Bernama.

“The state police chiefs will advise those who plan to host a talk by Zakir to scrap the plan.”

Hamid said Zakir’s talks in Kelantan had raised concerns among the people.

“We will find out the facts, what happened in the case,” he said.

Hamid said the gag order was intended to keep the peace and was not permanent.

“That seems fair. It is only temporary and if the situation doesn’t change, the order will remain.

“It is clear that we do not want religious talk forums to be linked to political issues. It is not appropriate for religious talks to include political issues both at home and abroad,” he said.

Hamid said he hoped there would be no objections to the ban pending a final decision.

“With regard to this case, I do not want to point fingers because actions were taken by both parties… by Zakir as well as by those dissatisfied with the content of his discourse,” he said.

Zakir is in hot water for allegedly questioning the loyalty of Indians in Malaysia to the prime minister, and telling the Chinese community here to go back to “their country” if they wanted him to do the same.

He apologised today for any hurt he might have caused with his remarks. 

Zakir has been interrogated twice by the cops over the remarks. He is under investigation for making insults with the intention of breaching the peace, said police

He is also embroiled in what he warns will become a legal row with several government leaders who have condemned him as a bigot and demanded that he be booted out of the country.

Zakir is wanted in India for alleged money laundering and inciting terrorism through hate speech.

Hamid, on whether the Indian authorities had sought Zakir’s extradition, said the police here had received no such application and that they had yet to find out the facts about the offences the preacher had allegedly committed back home. – August 20, 2019.