THE government has decided not to extradite preacher Dr Zakir Naik to India, and has not committed to hand him over to that country.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the decision was made based on Malaysia’s rights under Article 6 of the Extradition Treaty signed with the Government of India in 2010, as well as the provisions of the Extradition Act 1992.
He added that, to date, the government has not received any new extradition requests from India concerning Dr Zakir.
He noted that a formal extradition request from the Government of India was previously received on January 19, 2018, while a diplomatic note requesting a reconsideration was received on May 29, 2020.
"The Malaysian government has decided not to extradite Dr Zakir Naik to India, and no commitment has been made either" he said in a written reply published on the Parliament's website.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Dr Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (PN-Pengkalan Chepa) regarding the current status of the Indian government's extradition request for Dr Zakir, including the date the most recent formal request was received.
Ahmad Marzuk also sought clarification on whether the documents and evidence submitted met the requirements of the Extradition Act 1992 and the Malaysia-India extradition treaty, and whether the government had provided any commitment regarding the extradition of the preacher in question.
Last September, it was reported that the government was urged to clarify the legal and diplomatic status of the extradition request, a matter discussed between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
The Indian news outlet New Delhi Television reported that Anwar confirmed discussions on the matter took place "behind closed doors," likely in New Delhi. – November 3, 2026
