Naik is stirring up racial unease among Malaysians, says Dr Mahathir
PM assures Malaysians that Naik will be probed according to the rule of law.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it is clear that controversial Indian preacher Zakir Naik is stirring racial politics and “racial feelings” in the country.
“That is bad. So because of that, the police have to investigate whether he is stirring up racial politics.
“Obviously, he is. Due to that, he has to be investigated,” he told reporters after opening the 62nd International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress 2019 (ISI WSC 2019) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Mahathir assured Malaysians that Naik will be probed according to the rule of law, adding that the government respects the law.
He further said that those with permanent resident status in the country are not allowed to participate in politics.
“You (Naik) can give religious talks, explain religion and can preach.
“But he wasn’t doing that,” he said, adding that Naik was talking about sending Chinese back to China and Indians back to India.
He said politicians are careful about how they say things that are sensitive to the different communities in this country.
“I (have) never said that kind of things. I never asked the Chinese to go back or tell the Malays to tell the Chinese to go back,” he said, referring to reports that Naik asked Malaysian Chinese to “go back” first as they were the “old guests” of the country.
Naik was summoned to Bukit Aman on Friday to record his statement after police received more than 100 reports against him.
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He will continue the session at the federal police headquarters tomorrow afternoon.