MELAKA: Malaysia has the right not to extradite controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik if he is not going to be accorded justice, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said the situation was the same with Australia not sending Sirul Azhar Umar, a former bodyguard who was sentenced to death in 2015 for the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, back to Malaysia.
"We requested Australia to extradite Sirul and they are afraid we are going to send him to the gallows," he said.
"Zakir in general feels that he is not going to get a fair trial (in India)," Dr Mahathir said after opening the affordable homes scheme at Lipat Kajang in Jasin here on Monday (June 10).
It was reported that India's enforcement directorate would seek Interpol's cooperation to detain Zakir with an eye on extraditing him from Malaysia to face money laundering charges back home.
The directorate is working on getting a non-bailable warrant for Zakir's arrest from a Mumbai court, which it expects to secure on June 19.
