GEORGE TOWN, Sept 11 — Police recorded statement from both Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy and Bagan Dalam assemblyman Satees Muniandy at the former’s office in Komtar today.

Ramasamy was questioned from 9.20am until 1.15pm while Satees was questioned for three hours, starting from 9.40am and allowed to leave at around 12.30pm.

According to Satees, the police told him that he was being investigated under Section 500 and 504 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation and intentionally insult and provoking another person to break the public peace.

“They are investigating based on a police report lodged by Dr Zakir Naik regarding my statement published in Malaysiakini,” he told reporters later.

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The Mumbai-born preacher who is wanted by India had lodged a police complaint against Satees over the latter’s statement published in Malaysiakini titled “Lawmaker fumes after Zakir suggests Hindus here support Modi over Dr M” on August 12.

Satees said he cooperated fully with the police and even gave them his original statement.

“I stand by what I said in my statement, that he has no right to question Malaysians’ loyalty,” he said.

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Ramasamy exited his office at 1.15pm, accompanied by a lawyer from his counsel, N. Murali’s office.

“There were two police reports lodged against me, one on my statement published in Free Malaysia Today and another on my interview in India Today,” he said.

He too stressed that he stands by what he had said that Dr Zakir, as a permanent resident, has no right to question the loyalty of Malaysians.

He said he does not have anything personal against the controversial preacher but that the preacher had touched on the sensitivities of the ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians.

“He is a fugitive and a permanent resident but he comes here to touch on our racial sensitivities by telling the ethnic Chinese to go back to China and accusing the ethnic Indians of being disloyal to the country, this hurt their feelings,” he said.

Ramasamy said he had fully cooperated with the police and replied questions regarding the statements he made against Dr Zakir.

“I believe they have completed taking statements from me but if the need for me to go to Bukit Aman arises, I will go, I will not run away, especially not from Zakir Naik,” he said.

It is learnt that both Ramasamy and Satees are being investigated under the same sections, 500 and 504 of the Penal Code.

Dr Zakir had also lodged police reports former Malaysian ambassador Datuk Dennis Ignatius, Klang MP Charles Santiago and Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran.

Dr Zakir, who also issued notices of demand against all five, claimed they had wrongly quoted his August 8 remarks out of context and accused them of twisting and manipulating his comments.