![\"Zakir\"](\"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Zakir.jpg\")
The Malaysian authorities have denied reports by media outlets in India that the controversial Islamic Preacher Zakir Naik will be deported to India.\nInspector General of Police Fuzi Harun told reporters on Thursday that the police had received no directive to deport Naik and \u201cwill not be taking any action to return Naik back to India\u201d in the next two days.
\n\u201cOn PDRM\u2019s (Royal Malaysia Police\u2019s) side, we will take no action to deport him back, but I can\u2019t speak for other enforcement agencies,\u201d Harun said.
\nMalaysia\u2019s Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters on Wednesday that Naik must be \u201csubjected to the law\u201d whether he is a citizen or non-citizen. \u201cIf you do something that is not in accordance with the law, whether it involves issues of religion, crime, or whatever it is, you cannot be spared,\u201d Yassin said.
\nIt was reported by India-based NDTV that Zakir Naik was \u201cheading back to India from Malaysia on Wednesday\u201d to be sent to the India authorities. However, Naik denied this and called the information \u201ctotally baseless and false.\u201d
\n\u201cI have no plans to come to India till I feel safe from unfair prosecution,\u201d Naik said in a statement through the non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) that he founded in 1991, adding that he would return to India when \u201cthe government is just and fair.\u201d
\nNDTV also reported that Naik\u2019s lawyer Dato Shaharuddin Ali disputed the authenticity of the reports and claimed to have not been presented with any extradition papers.
\nZakir Naik left India in 2016 and is currently living in Putrajaya, and even received \u201cpermanent resident status\u201d from the previous Najib Razak-led administration.
\nMalaysia\u2019s FMT online news reported that the India-born Islamic preacher is celebrated among many Malaysian Muslims and had been invited around the city to preach Islam. It also reported that he had \u201cclose contacts\u201d with many senior officials, including in the police force.
\nNaik, 52, a medical doctor and a televangelist, is a popular figure with millions of followers on social media. His brand of hard-line Islam has often caused controversy with the authorities.
\nIn 2017, Naik was wanted by the Indian authorities for inciting religious hatred and for money laundering through the Mumbai-based IRF. He is also banned in the UK.<\/p>\n