This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 15, 2019

PUTRAJAYA: Two federal ministers raised the issue of the presence of Zakir Naik in Malaysia and statements made by him deemed controversial in the cabinet yesterday and with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo and Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran in a joint statement said they had expressed their position that action must be taken and Zakir should not be allowed to remain in Malaysia, Bernama reported. “The prime minister has taken note of our concerns. We leave it to him to consider the position and to decide soonest possible what will be done,” they said.

Gobind and Kulasegaran also reiterated the concerns raised over Zakir’s speeches and statements which they said had been inflammatory in nature. “We therefore express our objections to Zakir Naik, in the meanwhile, holding any further events here in Malaysia or making further statements which impact on race relations and the public order,” they said.