Keep your mouth shut, Malaysian deputy home minister Nur Jazlan tells Muslim preacher Zamihan

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (above) said the ministry was disappointed with Mr Zamihan for uttering words that challenged religion and the royal institution. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Muslim preacher Zamihan Mat Zin has been told to keep his "mouth shut" and resign from the civil service if he is unhappy with the Malaysian government.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the ministry was disappointed with Mr Zamihan for uttering words that challenged religion and the royal institution time and time again.

He said that after expressing views that hurt various parties, Mr Zamihan had taken things further by criticising Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in a new viral video clip.

"My advice to him is to keep his mouth shut and think before speaking and refrain from sensationalising matters. Otherwise, we will have to re-evaluate his role," Mr Nur Jazlan said during a breakfast session with voters at Taman Cempaka on Sunday (Nov 12).

Mr Nur Jazlan said Mr Zamihan should hold his tongue after getting the backing from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who recently said the government still needed the preacher's expertise to help rehabilitate Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant detainees at the Tapah Prison in Perak.

In a two-minute video that surfaced on YouTube on Oct 23, Zamihan was seen criticising Najib for proposing to allot a 16ha piece of land in Putrajaya for Saudi Arabia's King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP) to counter terrorism.

Mr Zamihan has called the move "unrealistic" and "unintelligent".

Mr Zamihan, who works for the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) and helps rehabilitate jailed terrorists, went on in the video to question why the government had not sought the views of academics, security experts and people like him on counter-terrorism.

"Why don't they ask us for our opinion? It is Zamihan who goes in and out of prisons to interact with the terrorists," he said.

"For me, the PM's action is not intelligent. Is it because we have borrowed money from them (the Saudi Arabians) and taken their funds and obtained assistance with the MoU on the haj quota that we have decided to give them the land?" he said.

Mr Zamihan is being investigated by the Malaysian authorities for sedition after he criticised the Sultan of Johor for barring a Muslims-only laundrette from operating in the state.

He was also in the news recently for attacking a mosque official in Penang who allowed non-Muslims to shelter in a surau during disastrous floods.

He has been barred by Johor and Selangor from giving sermons in those states due to his extremist Islamic views.

Last Thursday, however, he was described by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as an "asset" in the country's de-radicalisation programme.

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