Popular preacher Zakir Naik has filed a counterclaim in a Malaysian court after a former government official accused him of defamation in a speech the preacher allegedly made in Nigeria.
The preacher Naik argued that only Nigerian courts, not Malaysian courts, have the jurisdiction to hear and decide the case, Malaysian media reported Tuesday.
The defamation suit was filed by a former deputy chief minister for Malaysia’s Penang state, P Ramasamy, in December, alleging that the preacher referred to him as “the biggest enemy of Islam”.
Zakir was said to have made the alleged comments during his speech in Sokoto, Nigeria, during his visit last November.
This is not the first case between Ramasamy and India-born Zakir.
In the November, Zakir won two defamation suits against Ramasamy filed in 2019, and a Malaysian court ruled that Ramasamy must pay 1.52 million Malaysian Ringgit (N290 million) to the cleric for defaming him.
Counterclaim
In his statement of defence filed on Tuesday, Zakir said the former politician’s legal action could only be heard in Nigerian courts.
“[Zakir] once again insists that the High Court of Malaya or any court in this country has no jurisdiction and is not a suitable forum to hear and decide [Ramasamy’s] claim here,” Malaysia Edge newspaper quoted him as saying.
“[I] insist that the court in Nigeria is the court of jurisdiction and the appropriate forum for [Ramasamy’s] claim, [if] the allegedly defamatory statements were made […],” the Indian national, who is a Malaysian permanent resident, said in his statement.
In the statement, Zakir is reported as saying that his speech was a “cursory” one, which taken with context, did not defame Ramasamy.
Zakir is also suing Ramasamy over a different comment.
The preacher is seeking a permanent court order barring Ramasamy, 74, from making any defamatory statements about him and an apology to be carried on all major media outlets.
The cleric has a large following in Nigeria. He visited multiple Nigerian cities, including the capital Abuja, during his trip last year.
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