Nineteen individuals who have filed a suit to compel the government to arrest controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik need further time to decide on Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali's move to be a party in the suit.

Their lawyer S Karthigesan informed the judge of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Justice Hanipah Farikullah, on this during case management today.

"We need further instructions on whether to object to Ibrahim's application," Karthigesan said.

Ibrahim's lawyer Adnan Seman told reporters the court then fixed May 2 for case management to hear the plaintiffs' decision.

Adnan said that the defendants in the matter have no objections and would leave it to court.

On March 14 last year, Ibrahim filed an application to intervene in the plaintiffs' application, which among others had sought an order for the arrest and deportation of Zakir.

The suit was filed by former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Waytha Moorthy, former World Bank economist Lim Teck Ghee, lawyer Siti Zabedah Kassim, Bingkor state assemblyperson Jeffrey Kitingan and 15 others.

They named Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Immigration Department director-general, the National Registration Department director-general, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar and the Malaysian government as defendants.

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

They filed the application after they did not receive any response to their correspondence with the Home Ministry, the director-generals of Immigration and the National Registration Departments, as well as to the Prime Minister's Office on the immigration status of Zakir and his whereabouts in Malaysia.

Ibrahim in his application said Zakir is a well-known Islamic preacher, who received awards such as the Tokoh Maal Hijrah award from the Malaysian government in 2013, and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam, among others.

However, Zakir is being investigated for several offences, including money laundering, in his home country of India.