Malaysian Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran on Tuesday called on controversial instructor Zakir Naik, who has made a permanent home in the country, to question the loyalty of Hindus to Malaysia.

Kulasegaran, one of the senior-most Hindu politicians in the Malaysian coalition government, said in a statement that Nayak’s “actions do not reflect the eligibility for permanent residence status and will be brought to the next Cabinet meeting.”

“It is time for the foreigner to flee Malaysia and face charges of terrorism and money laundering in India,” he said.

Kulasegaran has also criticized Nayak in the past and raised the issue of the preacher at a Malaysian cabinet meeting in July last year along with two other minority ministers. Naik’s recent comments that Malaysian Hindus are more loyal to Indian Prime Minister than his Malaysian counterpart
Nayak recently compared the Hindus of Malaysia to the Muslims of India and said that they have gained more than 100% rights in Malaysia compared to the Muslims of India. He said it was unfortunate that the Hindus in Malaysia, despite their interests, were more loyal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi than Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohammed).

“We need to take action against controversial preacher Zakir Nayak for questioning the loyalty of Malaysian Hindus and touching the green nerve in our multi-ethnic society,” he said.

Kulasegaran described Nayak as “a fugitive and largely ignorant of Malaysian history”. He said that Nayak “should not be given such a right to chase away other Malaysians” and questioned their loyalty to their country.

“Is Naik trying to create a breakdown in the multi-racial and religious community while continuing to gain immunity and power through the support of the Muslim community to continue in this country?” He asked.
India has not yet heard from Malaysia on its request to extradite Nayak, who has been accused of inciting money laundering and terrorism. In June, Mahathir said Malaysia had the right to hand over Naik if the instructor believed there was no justice at home.

Mahathir’s remarks focus on the Nayak issue, which has lived in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia since leaving India two years ago, and his case in India-Malaysia relations has become irritating.

*From Various Sources