KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — With less than 24 hours before a scheduled discussion with fellow cleric Zamihan Mat Zain on religious extremism, Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abiddin has now said the engagement will not proceed.

Mohd Asri, who is seen as having differences of opinion with Zamihan, made this announcement on Facebook.

“The discussion between me and UZMZ (ustaz Zamihan Mat Zin) will not go on,” he said in a statement on his Facebook fan page.

Earlier this morning, the same Facebook page posted a poster advertising a discussion organised by Sinar Harian and featuring Mohd Asri and Ustaz Mohamad Rozaimi Ramle as the two panellists tonight. It did not feature Zamihan as one of the panellists.

Along with the poster was a description stating: “Since the discussion with UZMZ has been cancelled due to various reasons including ‘orders from the top’ as claimed, Sinar Harian has taken the initiative to continue a friendly discussion with the panelists below. ‘Peace and Harmony’.”

After minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim yesterday declared that he was cancelling a discussion between the two clerics, newspaper Sinar Harian had said it was willing to take on the role of organising the discussion.

Yesterday evening, Zamihan confirmed that Shahidan’s planned discussion for the two clerics was cancelled by the country’s top leadership on the advice of security agencies, calling Sinar Harian’s replacement event a mere “gimmick” to which he was not invited.

Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub, the group CEO of Sinar Harian’s publisher Karangkraf Media Group, yesterday said the paper will proceed with the event in the form of a healthy and friendly discussion.

He had said that both clerics are free to attend the event and said other Islamic scholars will be invited to join the public discussion titled “Ekstrimism Agama di Malaysia” (Religious Extremism in Malaysia).

Zamihan, who is president of Sunni Organisation Malaysia (Aswaja), recently challenged Mohd Asri to a debate, saying the latter should resign as mufti should he lose.

The challenge came after Mohd Asri accused Zamihan of influencing the Johor Islamic Religious Council’s (MAIJ) decision to bar him from speaking in Johor, a claim the latter has denied.