KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Fugitive televangelist Dr Zakir Naik's bid to postpone the hearing of his defamation trial against Bagan Dalam assemblyman Satees Muniandy this month has been rejected by the High Court.

The trial was scheduled for hearing from April 17 to 20.

Dr Zakir's lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader had filed an application to the court for a postponement to be granted on April 4, citing his client's non-availability during the scheduled dates.

He said his client was still in Oman after having been invited by the state to attend several lectures in conjunction with Ramadan.

The lawyer said that despite telling Dr Zakir he could attend court proceedings through Zoom, his client insisted on physically giving his testimony in court to avoid any technical issues and for better clarity.

Representing Satees, lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind objected to the application, saying that the court had set the dates way back in 2021 and Dr Zakir's action to seek the postponement showed that he was not taking the case seriously.

In reply, the court's senior assistant registrar informed that Dr Zakir's bid for the postponement was disallowed since the case had been ongoing since 2019 and the excuse given was insufficient for the hearing to be postponed.

Satees is being sued over an article published by Malaysiakini on August 12, 2019, in which he said the preacher should be deported from Malaysia for suggesting that Malaysian Indians are more loyal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi than to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Zakir had previously posted a video on his Facebook page, informing his supporters that he had safely arrived in Oman on March 22.

However, news reports emerged that Oman authorities had been asked to detain Dr Zakir following his arrival, with the Indian embassy in Oman working with local authorities to detain and deport him to India.

Dr Zakir, who now resides in Malaysia as a permanent resident, is facing charges in India involving money laundering, terrorism and creating religious tension.

The Indian government had previously sent an application for Dr Zakir's extradition in January 2018. - malaymail