Zakir Naik's PR status can be revoked
"We can revoke his PR status if he does something that is detrimental to the well-being of the nation," said Malaysia's president.
Malaysia Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that the Permanent Resident (PR) status of Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik could be revoked if his actions are proven to cause harm to the country.
"He (Zakir) has PR status. We can take away the PR status if he does something that is detrimental to the well-being of the nation.
"At this moment the police are investigating if he is doing that or not. If he is doing it, then it is necessary for us to take away his PR status," Dr Mahathir told The Edge Market reporters after visiting AirAsia's headquarters RedQ in the country.
However, he said the Government will wait for the police investigation against the fugitive preacher’s alleged sensitive remarks against Malaysian minorities, the Chinese and Indians.
Asked whether he will demand a public apology from Zakir, Dr Mahathir said: "At this moment, leave it to the police to investigate the seriousness of the statements that he has made."
The president said it was not healthy to think that Sabah is for Sabahans, Sarawak is for Sarawakians and 'Peninsular' is for 'Peninsularians' only.
"That is not healthy. We hope that we should only think of ourselves as parts of Malaysia and not as individual territories," he added.
Asked on the Sabah Government's dissatisfaction on lack of engagement on several issues including khat calligraphy, Dr Mahathir said the Sabah Government did not inform the Federal Government about this issue.
Dr Mahathir has further asked the public to not take action against Zakir to prevent him from making provocative speeches which tend to pit different races against each other.
