KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government has not received any request from India for the extradition of controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik, says Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
As such, the Deputy Prime Minister said there was no need for the Malaysian government do to so.
"Indeed, I did ask (the Prime Minister) but to date, the Malaysian government has not received any application from India to extradite Zakir," she told reporters after attending the Pandan parliamentary constituency Aidilfitri open house here Sunday (June 16).
Prior to this, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported as saying that Malaysia would not bow to insistence from any quarters for Zakir to be sent home to India.
Dr Mahathir said that Malaysia had the right to decide whether to send back the preacher to his country of origin after the Indian government was seen hard-pressed to detain Zakir for money laundering in India.
In her speech, Dr Wan Azizah said that the government would try to solve the issues at the Orang Asli settlement in Kuala Koh, Gua Musang, who were facing cases of fatalities due to lung infections.
She said this included looking at the problems of infrastructure and education.
"We must tackle the problem of infrastructure and the importance of providing them with basic necessities. Problems relating to health, water sources and cleanliness of surroundings must also be looked into," she said.
On Wednesday (June 12), police declared the Bateq Orang Asli village in Kuala Koh, Gua Musang as a red zone following the deaths of 14 residents due to lung infections. - Bernama
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