KUALA LUMPUR: The police issued a directive to its contingents nationwide to bar controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik from public talks.
In an intermal memo, the order was issued by deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Mazlan Mansor.
This has been confirmed by PDRM corporate communications head Datuk Asmawati Ahmad who said the order was issued for national security.
"The order was issued to police contingents nationwide and is done for the sake of national security and to preserve the harmony between races," she said.
Earlier, seven states banned Zakir from speak, among them Melaka, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak.
Zakir was previously called in by the police to give his statement following remarks he made at a talk in Kelantan which were allegedly insensitive to certain races in Malaysia.