NEWLY minted Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) information chief Ronnie Liu Thian Khiew has come under fire from the rightist fraternity for urging the Madani government “to send out celebrity Muslim preacher Zakir Naik from Malaysia immediately”.
The former DAP stalwart’s argument that there is no reason to have him around only “to create animosity not only with Malaysian Hindus but also with New Delhi who viewed him as a terrorist” is apparently rejected outright by the Indian national’s fanbase who looked up to him as a “non-provocative person”.
Instead, both Liu who joined PBM in August 2026 to help drive the party’s peninsular expansion was mocked for attempting to rid Zakir from Malaysia alongside DAP lawmaker RSN Rayer who questioned why Putrajaya is unkeen extradite the preacher to India despite “having stirred up various controversies”.
“He’s the one (Liu) who should be expelled from Malaysia … This has got nothing to do with him yet it turned out he’s the one causing a stir,” fumed a commenter to a Facebook post by Malay language news portal Malaysiapost on “Liu urging the Madani government to deport Zakir for potentially sparking racial tension”.
“During the time he has lived here, he never once issued any statement that stirred up racial tension. It’s just that tribe (DAP),” lambasted another with one netizen pointed out that “it would be better to send back Jelutong (MP Rayer) to India for the various problems he has brought to the country”.
Creating unease and division
For context, Rayer has demanded to know as to who is funding Zakir’s luxury apartment in Putrajaya as well as his bodyguards following an earlier statement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail that Putrajaya had decided not to extradite Zakir nor had made no commitment to hand him over to India.
Moreover, the Malaysian government has received no new extradition request from India for since the last received on Jan 19, 2018.
Contrary to the rightists claims that Zakir has never previously triggered religious discord, Liu who was a DAP veteran for 41 years before leaving the party in June 2023 listed down Zakir’s misdemeanours to Malaysian Hindus as follows:
1️⃣ Insulting Hindu beliefs and deities
2️⃣ Questioning the loyalty of Malaysian Hindus
3️⃣ Creating unease and division
“The heart of the matter is straightforward: Malaysian Hindus are not guests in their own land – they’re citizens with equal dignity and rights,” justified Liu.
No foreign resident should be permitted to remain if their presence persistently wounds, insults or questions the belonging of a sizable segment of the nation’s population.
Zakir Naik has a large following among some sections of the Malaysian Muslim community who view his speeches as educational and inspirational. His supporters argue he is being misunderstood and his words taken out of context.
At the same time, every individual – including Zakir Naik – is entitled to fairness and due process under the law. The challenge for any government is to uphold both: the dignity of all its citizens and the rule of law. 🙏 – Nov 4, 2026
