Lawyer: AG must tell if India made extradition request for Naik

SN Nair says it is the AG, not a ministry, that should be involved in responding to any request by India for Zakir Naik's extradition.

Lawyer says ‘silence is not an option’ for Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.

PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas has been urged to clarify whether Indian authorities made a request to his office early this year to extradite Zakir Naik who is wanted for alleged hate speech and involvement in terror-related activities.

SN Nair

Lawyer SN Nair said it was the AG, not any ministry, that should be involved in responding to India’s request.

“Thomas ought to respond as he is the AG, otherwise he will be seen as abdicating his duty. Silence is not an option,” Nair told FMT.

Nair was responding to a report in Malaysiakini which quoted Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Shri Raveesh Kumar as confirming that the request was made in January.

Mohamed Apandi Ali was the AG at the time. Thomas was appointed to the position last month.

Nair said politicians should not get involved in the issue as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s mantra was to uphold the rule of law.

Under normal circumstances, he said, the AG would study the request by the foreign nation before deciding whether he agreed to it.

“If the AG agrees, he will order the police to arrest the person sought for extradition.”

In this case, Naik could voluntarily leave for India to help investigators or face prosecution, he said.

“He could also engage local lawyers to challenge the extradition order, and it would be up to our courts to make a decision,” he added.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Naik, who has permanent resident status in Malaysia, would not be deported “as long as he is not creating any problems”.

However, Raveesh Kumar was quoted as saying that New Delhi’s request for Naik’s extradition was under “active consideration” in Malaysia.

Naik, a popular televangelist who was reported to have left India in 2016, has been accused by Malaysian groups of making inflammatory remarks against other religions. -FMT