The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is investigating a complaint filed against the comments posted by readers which appeared in a Malaysiakini news report on July 5.

According to the complainant, the comments regarding Islam were “extreme and disgusting” with regard to the article titled, ‘Reports: Terrorists in Dhaka followed Zakir Naik, IS recruiters’.

The article was based on a report by Bangladesh’s English-language newspaper The Daily that Rohan Imtiaz, one of those who perpetrated the carnage in Dhaka where 20 people were killed, followed the controversial preacher on social media.

Another terrorist in the attack, Nibras Islam, reportedly used to follow Islamic State (IS) suspected recruiters Anjem Choudary and Shami Witness on Twitter in 2014.

Zakir has since denied promoting or endorsing terrorism.

Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak confirmed that a report was received on the readers' comments.

He also reminded readers of news portals and social media users to respect religious sensitivities and cautioned them against crossing the line of civility when expressing their views.

“Religious and racial debates should be handled carefully; it should not create tension. Sometimes the debates are too personal and do not reflect maturity.

“It is fine to disagree with something, but differences must be respected.

“We can be critical but we must be together to fight extremism. Put aside political, racial and religious differences,” he told Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan said that the news portal has often reminded readers to be mindful of their comments.

“We advise readers against using profanity or make derogatory remarks. We do our best to monitor these comments, deleting those that are offensive. We also bar those who refuse to heed our warnings,” he added.

Gan also stressed the importance of keeping debates amicable, especially on matters of race and religion.

“There’re bound to be differences of opinion in a multiracial and multireligious country like Malaysia, but let’s agree to disagree civilly.”