KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has dismissed claims circulating on social media that controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik has been granted Malaysian citizenship.

According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Saifuddin clarified that the claim originated from an old social media post.

“It is a fake post which was made more than six years ago,” he told FMT.

The claim was linked to a photograph of Zakir receiving the “Pahlawan Perkasa” award from former Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali.

“This is absolute fitnah (slander) and is aimed at misleading Malaysians and provoking them for political reasons,” Ibrahim told FMT.

He further stated that Zakir remains a permanent resident and has no intention of obtaining Malaysian citizenship.

“He told me he does not want citizenship here, and he is waiting for the right time for everything to be settled before he returns to India,” Ibrahim added.

Zakir, originally from Mumbai, has been wanted by Indian authorities since 2016 for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speech.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last August that Malaysia would not consider extraditing Zakir to India as long as he did not cause any trouble.

The preacher was granted permanent residency by Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional government in 2015.

According to FMT, in 2017, Indian media reported that Zakir was seeking Malaysian citizenship, citing India’s National Investigation Agency, though no decision had been made at the time.

Zakir was barred from public speaking in Malaysia in 2019 after making controversial remarks about Hindus and Chinese Malaysians during a speech in Kota Baru.

However, on February 20, Saifuddin stated that there are currently no restrictions preventing him from giving public speeches.