Reinstate Ban On Zakir Naik Giving Speeches Sarawak Rep Tells Govt

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Ba’kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian said the ban should only be lifted if Dr Zakir Naik apologises and pledges not to repeat inflammatory remarks.
PETALING JAYA: A Sarawak assemblyman wants Putrajaya to reinstate the ban on controversial Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik making speeches in public, citing concerns over national security and racial harmony.
Baru Bian, who is the Ba’kelalan assemblyman, expressed his disappointment over the home minister’s revelation that the prohibition was no longer in effect.
“It is incomprehensible to right-thinking Malaysians that the ban was lifted without any justification and no release of reports on the investigations that were carried out into the incidents complained about,” he said in a statement today.
“When the ban was imposed, the police cited serious concerns over national security and racial harmony. What has become of these concerns?”
Baru said the ban should only be lifted if Naik apologises and pledges not to repeat any inflammatory remarks.
“National security and harmonious coexistence must never be compromised for political expediency.”
On Thursday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed that the ban imposed in 2019 was temporary and was no longer in effect.
The Mumbai-born preacher, who is wanted in India for money laundering, was previously banned from speaking at public events in Malaysia after he made controversial statements about the local Indian and Chinese communities during a speech in Kota Bharu in 2019.
At the time, police cited national security and the need to preserve racial harmony as reasons for the directive, after many police reports were filed against the preacher.
Yesterday, Global Human Rights Federation deputy president Peter John Jaban urged the Sarawak government to ban Naik from entering the state to preserve its religious harmony.
Baru, a former federal works minister, echoed this call and asked the Sarawak government to uphold a directive that placed Naik on the state immigration blacklist when the late Adenan Satem was chief minister.
He said Sarawak prides itself on policies that foster religious and ethnic inclusivity.
“Sarawak’s stance should serve as a reminder that national policies must align with the principles of harmony and respect that Sarawak has upheld for decades,” he said. - FMT

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