JULY 15 — Absolutely nobody envies Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his team’s task: to sort out a seemingly endless laundry list of mess left behind by the previous administration.
They certainly did not realise the gargantuan task before them before taking power, and the struggle has been real, with ministers making gaffes one after another of late.
At any other time, we may be able to ignore this particular mess in that long list: the continued presence of Indian televangelist Dr Zakir Naik in our country.
After all, who cares about a washed-out fugitive whose only “fame” now is making an appearance at Friday prayers?
Maybe, but perhaps not. The issue can no longer be ignored after Zakir himself was pictured in the same room as Dr Mahathir last week, the two smiling into the camera as they shook hands — the latter seemingly less sincere than the former.
As usual, the first thing we have to ask is who benefits the most from that meeting?
It is hardly an easy thing to steal some time from the prime minister, who barely has time for himself. So how deep a political connection does Zakir have with the current government to procure a slot? And does it hurt Dr Mahathir more to refuse that meet, than to accept it?
Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has largely stayed quiet on the status of Zakir, but prior to that meet, Dr Mahathir pledged that Putrajaya will not simply accede to pressure to send Zakir home where he faces several charges: links to terrorism, and money laundering.
This deliberation may be frustrating but understandable.
Ministers Gobind Singh Deo and M. Kulasegaran have since explained that the Cabinet has had a discussion about the matter, with the former urging India to present its case so Putrajaya can decide whether to deport Zakir.
Similarly, Kula said that the rule of law would require India to make the first move, and he would raise the matter with Dr Mahathir’s counterpart Narendra Modi during a visit soon.
“This is the right way of doing things, it is not right for the government nor one man to decide on this matter... it should be decided by law in the courts as they have the duty to dispense justice,” Kula said in a statement.
It is important that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) plays a cautious game when it comes to Zakir, since his permanent residency is a particularly devastating landmine left behind by Barisan Nasional.
Simply put, the pact would have one less political dilemma to deal with had Zakir been denied residency. But allowed he was, and this needs to be handled carefully.
Zakir’s last resort is to play the game of persecution, much like a certain former prime minister after he was caught with a smoking gun over misappropriating billions of ringgit.
The most common excuse being used by his supporters now is that he will not face fair trials in India under the undeniably discriminatory Hindu government of Modi.
And if Putrajaya were to unilaterally decide on sending Zakir back, despite this perception of persecution, then Malaysia would be seen as an enabler of oppression against Muslims, wrongly or rightly.
And this would not bode well for PH politically — either internally with voters, or externally among other Muslim-majority allies.
In this sense, Dr Mahathir and Putrajaya’s hands are tied. Even the prime minister admitted so himself, when he reportedly said this week: “We need to consider all the elements involved before we provide feedback on all the urgings made against him.
If not it would result in unnecessary victimisation.”
But perhaps that was neither tacit nor overt support by Dr Mahathir for Zakir, but merely a move of political expediency.
Putrajaya can still do better. India has on numerous occasions highlighted that it has submitted a formal request to extradite Zakir in January. But that was when Barisan Nasional was still in power, and they had reason to collude with Zakir and continue to hide him.
PH has nothing to gain, and all to lose by keeping this political landmine within our borders. So how will PH react now?
Two months into the “new Malaysia”, the government has already experienced how exasperating it is when you need a witness or suspect so bad, and yet find it impossible to bring him home — as in the case of the elusive Jho Low.
And it has already experienced how diplomatic co-operation can bring someone to justice — as it was with Jamal Md Yunos.
We have a steady hand in diplomacy with the appointment of Saifuddin Abdullah to helm Wisma Putra, and we hope he is not further burdened with the perception that Malaysia is a place where fugitives can elude justice.
We need a complete shift when it comes to Zakir, starting by discarding all the propaganda that his followers have surrounded him with.
He is not God’s miraculous worker with the power to convert heathens into Islam by the sheer force of his will, nor does he have the influential long arm of his media empire.
Zakir now is a scared man whose deeds have caught up with him, and literally begging to not be sent to the gallows. A dying man will say anything to save his skin.
“I am humbled to be a part of this diversity, and I also acknowledge the sensitivities it entails. I would never wish to disrupt or jeopardise this balance in any way, or to break the rule of law of this country, because it is my primary concern to foster the social harmony currently enjoyed by its citizens,” he said.
But where was this “respect” for diversity and sensitivities when he was freely denigrating and insulting other religions, with a smile? When he was calling for the deaths of apostates and the LGBT?
If Zakir had cared as much for the social harmony of his own hometown, as he claimed to do for Malaysia, he may not have had to run away here.
Zakir Naik must realise that by continuing to stay here, he is slowly and surely dissolving Malaysia’s social harmony. If he pledges to protect such harmony, then there is no better way to do that than to return to his country and face the music.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
