Kuala Lumpur: A day after Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was not allowed to participate in 'racial politics' by Malaysian government, Melaka became the seventh state of Malaysia to ban his controversial speeches.
Melaka Chief Minister Adly Zahari on Sunday said that Zakir Naik has been barred from holding religious talks in the state.
The prohibition came amid concerns over the controversy surrounding the preacher, the Melaka Pakatan Harapan state government said that 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," Malaysia' Star quoted Adly Zahari as saying.
Melaka now joins six other states-- Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak ? have decided to bar the controversial preacher from speaking in public.
Kedah, Penang and Johor became the latest states to announce their objections to Zakir's religious talks, which have drawn public flak over his combative style of propagating Islam.
Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on August 16 that the country would revoke the Permanent Resident (PR) status of Niak if investigations show that his actions are causing harm to the country's well-being.
Zakir Naik was granted Malaysian Permanent Resident status in 2015.The controversial preacher is wanted in India on charge of money laundering.
Malaysian authorities last year said they would not extradite Zakir to India despite receiving an extradition application from India to face money-laundering charges.(UNI)