PREACHER and Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik is not needed in the country as his contributions in advancing Islam have not benefitted Malaysia, Health Minister Dr S. Subramaniam said yesterday.

“We can do without Zakir Naik, as he is doing it outside the Malaysian context. Here, if you are Buddhist, you are doing it in a Malaysian context… if you are Hindu, you are doing it in Malaysian context,” said Dr Subramaniam in the final address for the night at the National Transformation initiative (TN50) dialogue held at Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

He was addressing the concern of Indian youth, who expressed anger over Zakir’s presence in Malaysia.

Some supporters label the preacher a secularist, while others have called on the government to remove him from Malaysia and revoke his permanent residency. 

Dr Subramaniam, who is also president of MIC, an Indian-based political party, said Zakir was not a secularist. He is instead a fundamentalist who wants to pursue an extremist agenda. 

“Do we need Zakir Naik to contribute towards the advancement of Islam in this country? The answer is ‘no’.”

Zakir is wanted by India to facilitate a probe into him for spreading terrorism propaganda.

Dr Subramaniam also said Malaysia needed to manage the dynamics of religions in the country well before they turn into challenges.

During the TN50 session, the youth also shared their aspiration for 2050. The focus was on education, the quota system, Malaysian identity as well as equal opportunity in getting government contracts and admissions into universities.

TN50 session with the Indian youth last night were among many held to engage with the public, especially the youth in building a road map towards 2050. – April 20, 2017.