Islamic preacher Zakir Naik testified that an online article over the 2019 arrests of 12 people with alleged links to Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) was about his supporters.
However, the Indian national told the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon that the full context of the article ultimately referred to him as well.
The permanent resident of Malaysia made this contention during the hearing of his second defamation suit against Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.
Zakir has previously filed two civil actions against the defendant over alleged defamatory statements.
The alleged defamatory statements were in relation to the preacher’s alleged controversial remarks during a talk in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on Aug 8, 2019, while speaking about the peaceful spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago.
The second suit was over an article titled ‘DAP leader accuses Zakir camp of ‘faking’ Tamil Tigers revival’ carried by online news portal The Malaysian Insight on Nov 8, 2019.
The 12 people - who were charged at various courts nationwide - had their criminal court proceedings discontinued following a decision by then attorney-general Tommy Thomas on Feb 21, 2020.
LTTE has been defunct since 2009, following its defeat by government forces during the Sri Lanka civil war.
Cross-examination
In today’s open-court hearing before trial judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, Zakir contended during cross-examination by Ramasamy’s counsel Ranjit Singh that Ramasamy’s alleged defamatory statement in the article was not just referring to the preacher’s supporters.
Ranjit: The defendant here was stating your supporters did this, do you agree or disagree?
Zakir: Partly, when it said Zakir’s supporters, it also meant Zakir.
Ranjit: When the word supporters were used, it includes you?
Zakir: Yes, it includes me.
When the lawyer suggested that Ramasamy was merely trying to say that it was Zakir’s supporters who were allegedly spreading lies, the preacher reiterated that it still meant him.
Zakir also disagreed with Ranjit’s suggestion that the allegation in the article only referred to the preacher’s supporters.
The hearing before Hayatul will resume tomorrow.
The suit
The first suit was filed on Oct 16, 2019, in relation to Ramasamy’s four statements issued on April 10, 2016; Oct 1, 2017; Aug 11, 2019; and Aug 20, 2019.
The second suit was filed on Dec 30, 2019.
Aside from Ramasamy, Zakir has also filed defamation suits against former human resources minister M Kulasegaran, Klang MP Charles Santiago, Bagan Dalam assemblyperson Satees Muniandy and former ambassador Dennis J Ignatius.
These civil actions were also in relation to statements made in regard to the preacher’s Kota Bharu ceramah.
However, on July 4, Zakir and Kulasegaran settled the defamation suit.
As of press time, the preacher is still pressing on with the civil actions against the other defendants.
Lawyer K Ragunath also acted for Ramasamy. Zakir was represented by Akberdin Abdul Kader. - Mkini
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