'Zakir meddling in politics' – Ramasamy to file report, Kit Siang shocked

The feud between Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy and Dr Zakir Naik, which has witnessed the filing of police reports and issuing of legal letters, continues to escalate.

This evening, the DAP leader said he would file a police report against the Muslim preacher for allegedly meddling in local politics.

"I am drafting it (police report) as we speak. I will lodge the report either later this evening or tomorrow,” he told Malaysiakini.

Ramasamy was responding to Zakir's second notice of demand dated Aug 23, which linked his statements critical of the preacher to his position in DAP.

"Rather than sending me a professional notice of demand, Zakir has accused me of criticising him due to my 'sagging popularity' in DAP.

"Furthermore, he accused me of misusing my position as the deputy chief minister II and being the person behind the (cancelled) protest against him in Brickfields on Aug 24, 2019.

"Isn't this second legal notice another interference of Zakir in local politics? This is something that the police have warned him against," he added.

Apart from this, the Perai assemblyperson said he would also write a complaint letter to the Malaysian Bar Council against the legal firm Akberdin & Co, which represents Zakir.

Ramasamy accused the firm of "unethical and unprofessional conduct."

Kit Siang: This confirms Zakir continues to interfere

Meanwhile, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang expressed shock over the contents of Zakir's second legal notice.

"Shocked by contents of Zakir's second legal notice to Ramasamy, which only confirmed that Zakir is continuing to interfere in local Malaysian politics. There can be no place for such interference by a foreigner," he tweeted.

Earlier, Malaysiakini reported that the Indian-born preacher's second notice of demand was related to Ramasamy's remarks in an interview with India Today.

Zakir, who deemed the remarks as defamatory, gave Ramasamy 48 hours to retract his statements, publish an unreserved apology and make an offer of a reasonable sum in settlement.

However, Ramasamy said he is prepared to face the preacher in court.

Zakir, who is a Malaysian permanent resident, is currently being investigated over his remarks concerning Hindu Malaysians and Chinese Malaysians during a ceramah in Kelantan on Aug 8.

The preacher has since apologised albeit claiming that his remarks were taken out of context.

Meanwhile, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said Zakir has been advised to focus on preaching and to be careful about touching local political issues.