The Islamic preacher was responding to a report in the Hindustan Times yesterday which reported that Zakir, whose Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) has been banned in India, was under investigation by police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The daily added that authorities, who had thought he was hiding in Africa or Thailand, now believed he was in Malaysia.
“Not true at all,” Arif Malik, a spokesman for Zakir, said in a statement, according to Janta Ka Reporter.
Quoting Zakir, Malik said: “Till a few months ago, the Indian media had been saying I was banned in Malaysia, and now they’re saying I’ve got Malaysian citizenship. That’s ridiculous. And there’s no truth in the Malaysian citizenship rumour.”
Yesterday, Putrajaya had also dismissed the Hindustan Times report with Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed saying that becoming a Malaysian citizen was a lengthy process and any report saying the preacher was a citizen was merely an allegation.
“There are many processes to go through and it takes decades to become a citizen,” the Pulai lawmaker told FMT.
Previously, Indian media had named Malaysia as one of many countries that had imposed a ban on the Islamic televangelist over his alleged hate speeches.
Zakir had shot back at such accusations, saying that the Malaysian government had given him the highest civilian honour for a Muslim, that is the Tokoh Maal Hijrah.
Zakir is no stranger to the country, having come to Malaysia in April to give a series of talks on Islam much to the ire of several quarters.
Non-Muslim groups in particular wanted him barred from speaking in Malaysia as they said he often demeaned other religions and could cause harm to Malaysia’s multi-religious harmony.
In October, the Mumbai-born televangelist returned to Malaysia where he attended the annual conference of Al-Khadem in Kuala Lumpur.