COMMENT | I must first congratulate the police (PDRM) for banning Zakir Naik (above) from speaking in public. This shows how much Malaysians, including Malay-Muslims, can no longer tolerate the kind of preaching that is not only filled with half-baked truths but also inciting threats to our multicultural polity. This type of preacher needs to be asked to leave our country. No free speech in shouting “Fire, Fire in a movie theatre“ goes the analogy.

But there are still those who assert that Malaysia is only for Malays and that we need a Saddam Hussein to unite this country. Saddam Hussein is a mass murderer. Not a good role model for anyone, Muslims included. This kind of statement is at best bankrupt in content and intent, and at worst seditious, in a new Malaysia that promises us less racism and religious bigotry.

But was Zakir Naik misquoted or taken out of context?...