Man held for criminal intimidation of Perlis Mufti

KANGAR, May 8 — The police have arrested a man for criminal intimidation of Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin on a Facebook page, said Kangar Police chief Supt Wari Kiew.

He said the 40-year-old man was remanded for three days from yesterday to assist in the investigation under Section 506 of the Penal Code.

“The police received a report from Asri at 11.20am on Saturday at the Kangar police station, claiming criminal intimidation over a Facebook post,” he said, adding that the suspect hailed from Kedah.

It is learnt that the criminal intimidation is the result of dissatisfaction over Asri’s expressed support for Indian preacher Dr Zakir Naik.

Zakir’s Friday sermon at the Arau State Mosque in February had also elicited objections from some people. — Bernama

Hindraf lobbies UN to get Zakir Naik's PR revoked

Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (Hindraf) has written to the UN security council's counter-terrorism committee (CTC) asking it to advise Malaysia to revoke Indian national Zakir Naik's permanent residence (PR) over alleged terrorism-linked concerns.

Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy in his letter yesterday to CTC chair Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta at the UN headquarters in New York, conveyed his NGO's complaints on the controversial preacher Zakir's presence and activities in Malaysia.

Waythamoorthy pointed out Malaysia is a member of the CTC and should therefore be advised on the “dangers” Zakir is believed to pose.

“The Malaysian social fabric made of a heterogeneous community, has a unique blend of harmonious relationship between each other irrespective of their race, religion or creed build over centuries.

“We are quite anxious with such character like Zakir Naik given impunity to move around freely, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, sectarianism and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of our harmony in Malaysia.

“We are writing to your office with the hope that you could address this issue with the Malaysian representative who sits in your CTC to heed the warning on the anxiety of the Malaysian public and its long term damage direct and indirectly domestically and internationally,” wrote Waythamoorthy.

He said this is particularly since Zakir is unwilling to return to India to face money-laundering and terrorism-related charges, and speculated the preacher may be shifting his base of operations to Malaysia.

Zakir's PR status in Malaysia has riled certain quarters, particularly the non-Muslims, some of whom have taken offence with several of the preacher's sermons.

Hindraf, in particular, was caught in a war of words last week with one of Zakir's many local advocates, Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin, after the latter wrote a poem defending the preacher's PR.

Even BN's Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam criticised the award of Zakir's PR, accusing the preacher of "inciting divisive forces".

No to 'safe haven'

Waythamoorthy said amongst Zakir Naik’s “notable followers” were Afghan-American suicide bomber Najibullah Zazi, Kafil Ahmed, Islamic State (IS) member Ayaz Sultan and other Indian-based figures variously linked to terrorist activities, such as Rahil Sheikh, Feroz Deshmukh, Rohan Imtiaz, Ibrahim Yazdani and Naimathullah Hussaini.

“We, in Malaysia, do not want our country to be used for terrorist installations or training camps, or for the preparation or organisation of terrorist acts intended to be committed either domestically or internationally,” he said.

Noting the CTC's guiding principles include active and passive support of terrorists and international cooperation against terrorism, Waythamoorthy urged the committee to “advise” the Malaysian committee member of Malaysia's “obligation to deny Zakir, who is a fugitive, safe haven” and to therefore revoke his PR.

The CTC, he said, should also advise Malaysia to “apply the principle of extradition to avoid and prevent any future calamity by allowing Zakir to remain in Malaysia with the ability to move around freely in carrying out his ideology that is against public interest in Malaysia”.

Asri: Prove Zakir's faults or bury the hatchet

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin has challenged those opposing Indian national Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to prove his faults. 

Otherwise, he said, both Muslims and Hindus in Malaysia should bury the hatchet and opt for a harmonious relationship.

"I hope all quarters will stop the race and religious provocaions in the Zakir Naik issue and other matters.

"Those dissatisfied with Zakir's approach can reveal evidence of his speeches in Malaysia which led to religious tensions and if this is proven, I, too, will protest (against him)...

"If not, let's bring calm to the situation by extending a hand to each other in harmony, despite differing religions," he said in a statement today. 

He said this method is better than "the Hindraf way of making claims without acceptable evidence".

He also reiterated that his poem, which condemns "cow worshippers", the caste system and the now-defunct widow torching practice, was meant to criticise India and not Hindus in Malaysia.

"Even so, I apologised to all who are not involved in Hindraf who were offended by the poem; all for the sake of good relations regardless of religion," he said.  

He added that Prophet Muhammad stressed the importance of good relations with those of other religions and justice for all regardless of their beliefs, ethnicity and creed. 

Similarly, he said, Hindu figures like Mahatma Gandhi and S Sambanthan all favoured the path of peace, he said. 

Zakir has been accused of critics of straining ties between followers of different religions through his talks which compare Islam with other faiths.

Police barred his talk to compare Islam and Hinduism in Kuala Lumpur, fearing inter-religious strife. 

He is reported to have convinced many non-Muslims to embrace Islam, many of whom do so at his talks. The same occured at his numerous events in Malaysia.

A Malaysian permanent resident, he is lauded by many Muslims as an expert in comparative religions and was awarded the Tokoh Maal Hijrah in 2013. 

Zakir is wanted in India for alleged money-laundering, and is accused of encouraging radical Islam after one of the perpetrators in the Dhaka terrorist attacks last year was reported to be follower of his teachings.

He has denied the charges, and fears that he will be tortured by Indian investigators if he is to return to give his statement there. He is reported to be based in Saudi Arabia.