COMMENT It is interesting, with some countries already banning Zakir Naik, that Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should shower words of praise on the controversial Muslim preacher, calling him “a very wise man”.

In fact, I would say it is unwise of Zahid to call Zakir a wise man until he has carefully evaluated his credentials; otherwise, we may be embarrassed once again before the eyes of the world for accepting the help of an alleged illegal online gambling kingpin on matters relating to our national security.

From the much that I know about this man, Zakir is known to be a radical Islamic televangelist propagating Wahhabism. The reason why people including MIC, Hindraf and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy have spoken against Zakir is because he has already ruffled a few feathers with the title of his lecture on so-called comparative religion even before the lectures started.