KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Melaka Chief Minister Adly Zahari said controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik has been barred from holding religious talks in the state.

The prohibition came amid concerns over the controversy surrounding the preacher, the English daily The Star quoted Melaka Chief Minister Adly Zahari as saying.

The Melaka Pakatan Harapan state government said it sought to avoid “issues” that could strain race relationships.

“We want to maintain this (good relations). So we decided not to allow Zakir to hold talks or gatherings here,” he told reporters yesterday.

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Melaka now joins six other states in barring Dr. Zakir from publicly speaking. The six are Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak.

The Star reports that Kedah, Penang and Johor became the latest states to announce their objections to Dr. Zakir’s religious talks due to his combative style of propagating Islam.

Johor Religious Islamic Department (JAIJ) director Datuk Md Rofiki A. Shamsudin reportedly said the body never gave the Indian national approval to hold talks in the state.

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“Any religious preacher must get the necessary approval from JAIJ before they are allowed to conduct religious talks. This is to ensure these preachers do not say anything against our creed or aqidah,” he was quoted saying.

Next to bar him was Penang, with Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman saying the state would not welcome Dr. Zakir to its shores to speak at any public event, a decision made six months ago.

Ahmad was reported to have told the evangelist that the content of his speeches or views “would not be suitable for” the highly multiracial state.

“When Zakir visited us, we discussed several things, including his wish to have talks here in Penang,” he said.

“But we immediately told him that we felt whatever he wanted to talk about would not be suitable.”