Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali has applied to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a group of activists who had sought, among others, an order for the arrest and deportation of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Ibrahim filed the application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today and explained to reporters that he has locus standi as the president of an association which boasts of almost 700,000 members, whose majority are Muslims.

And Zakir, he pointed out, was a well-known Islamic preacher, citing the awards he received such as the Tokoh Maal Hijrah award by the Malaysian government in 2013, and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam, among others.

Ibrahim also said that Perkasa’s constitution states the reasons for the establishment of Perkasa, among them, to uphold Islam as the federal religion.

Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy and 18 others, including Bingkor assemblyperson Jeffrey Kitingan, outspoken lawyer Siti Kassim and Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee, had filed the suit earlier this month.

The plaintiffs also sought declarations that Zakir is a threat to national security, harmony and unity.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim said his group had always denounced Hindraf, which he claimed to have continuously made allegations in various issues.

Addressing Waythamoorthy who had purportedly invited him for a tea session, Ibrahim said the former should not, therefore, object his application to intervene in the suit.

“We can all come to court and debate, that’s the best and gentlemanly way.

“At first I wanted to invite him to drink goat's milk but I think it’s not necessary because he (should) come to court first,” added Ibrahim.

Further addressing Waytheamoorthy and the other plaintiffs in the suit, Ibrahim said they should not “try to insult and fool them".

“There are still Muslims who are ready to fight for the truth and to fight at whatever cost, for the Islamic vision and the constitution,” he said.

Criticising the group, Ibrahim questioned why they were stopping Zakir from preaching to Muslims when they “always talked about human rights and freedom of religion”.

“When there are Hindu monks who come to Malaysia during Thaipusam to give talks and there are Muslims in attendance, we never stop them.

“Even when (prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) goes we don’t prevent him, just that I myself don’t go,” he added.

“When Zakir comes to give talks to the Islamic community and when there are non-Muslims and one or two becomes interested (in Islam), we cannot prevent them, we cannot say this is violence.”

Zakir appears to have a warm relationship with politicians on both sides of the divide in Malaysia, with BN and PAS leaders taking to social media to share pictures of their meetings the preacher.

They include Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Zakir’s plan to hold a talk last year comparing Islam and Hinduism sparked an outcry, prompting the authorities to ban the event.

The ban was lifted after the topic was changed to 'Is Quran the word of God?'