Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik rejected reports alleging that he was critically ill and confined to a government hospital, describing the claims as entirely baseless and deliberately misleading.
The allegations suggested that Naik was on life support at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and being treated in a high-security ward with restricted access even for close family members. The claims circulated widely and portrayed him as being in extremely poor health. Naik, however, firmly denied the assertions and maintained that he was in good condition and present in the country.
Responding through his lawyer, Akberdin Abdul Kader, Naik said the reports were fabricated and intended to damage his reputation. Akberdin reinforced the denial by stating that his client was healthy and showed no signs of serious illness. He stressed that the preacher was neither hospitalised nor receiving any form of critical medical treatment.
The lawyer added that such rumours were aimed at discrediting Naik. This latest episode follows a similar incident around four months earlier, when Naik had publicly refuted claims that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. At the time, he characterised those allegations as malicious and irresponsible, arguing that they were spread to provoke hatred and mislead the public. His legal representative had then also dismissed the claims, suggesting they were designed to undermine Naik’s standing and influence.
Akberdin reiterated that false narratives about Naik were often amplified because of his prominence and the strong reactions he tends to generate. The continued spread of unverified claims reflected an effort to erode public trust in the preacher by exploiting sensitive issues such as health.
Naik has remained a polarising figure, frequently attracting both support and criticism for his religious views and public statements. Despite this, his legal team insists that misinformation should not be allowed to circulate unchecked, particularly when it involves serious claims about a person’s wellbeing.
With the latest denial, Naik and his representatives have once again sought to put to rest speculation surrounding his health, insisting that the claims of him being on his deathbed have no grounding in reality.
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