KUALA LUMPUR — Despite a public ­uproar over the Malaysian government’s ­decision to allow controversial Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik to give lectures in the country, the Mumbai-based televangelist has revealed that the Peace TV Islamic network launched by him is planning to broadcast in Malay in Malaysia, and may even collaborate with a local broadcaster.

Dr Zakir, described as “the ideologue and driving force” behind the Dubai-based network, said it started broadcasting in English 10 years ago and currently broadcasts through 14 satellite channels.

“We have already planned to produce programmes in 10 languages. In the near future, we are making ­arrangements to produce in Mandarin ... We are also planning to do it in ­Malay. We may also form a partnership with a television broadcasting company in this country to expand Peace TV,” he said, in an interview published by the Malay-language ­daily Utusan ­Malaysia’s weekend edition Mingguan ­Malaysia. Dr Zakir did not name the Malaysian broadcaster  Peace TV intends to collaborate with.

Malaysia’s state-owned Islamic network TV Alhijrah announced last week that it will show the Tonight With Zakir Naik talk show produced by Peace TV on Wednesday nights.

The Peace TV channel, which features Dr Zakir as one of its speakers, was reportedly banned in his home country in 2012.

India’s intelligence unit had reportedly red-flagged Peace TV among 24 foreign channels for allegedly broadcasting anti-India programmes “not conducive to the security environment in the country”, an allegation that Dr Zakir has denied.

In the interview published on Sunday (April 24) by Mingguan Malaysia, Dr Naik also expressed hope that Malaysia will soon have a preacher such as him, following the training of six Malaysians ­under his wings.

Dr Zakir said the six were selected a few months ago to be his proteges owing to the high number of applicants, a departure from the norm where only one or two students are selected from each country.

“In 12 to 45 days, God willing, ­Malaysia will have a preacher like me,” he was quoted as saying.

Dr Zakir was commenting on his international training programme to groom Islamic preachers, with the latest batch of 20 students from 12 countries including the six Malaysians, four Indians, two from Singapore, and one each from Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and China. He said the 20 were sent for an ­intensive 

45-day training stint in Mumbai that ­involves studying five days a week.

Dr Zakir’s recent one-week tour in Malaysia on the invitation of the Terengganu state government was met with uproar from various quarters, including the ruling Barisan ­Nasional (BN) component parties.

Analysts told TODAY last week that the Malaysian government’s ­endorsement of Dr Zakir — including a meeting between the preacher and Prime Minister Najib Razak — was aimed at appealing to the Malay voter base, marking another level at which the country’s main ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, is using religion to shore up its political position.

The Malaysian Deputy Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs, Asyraf ­Wajdi Dusuki, defended the decision last week, saying Dr Zakir is a “voice of moderation” for Islam. 

Mr Asyraf was among those who lobbied for Dr Zakir to be allowed to speak in Malaysia, despite objections from BN’s senior partners, ­the ­Malaysian Indian Congress and the ­Malaysian Chinese Association, as well as from numerous non-governmental organisations.

The preacher is controversial for his views, among them his support for Al Qaeda jihadists and Osama bin Laden. In a 2006 lecture, he called for “every Muslim to be a terrorist”. Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has also defended the Islamic televangelist and even described the latter as a “very wise man”. During his week-long tour, Dr Zakir spoke in Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu and Malacca, after being given permission to do so by the police and the government. AGENCIES