PETALING JAYA: Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming has spoken up in support of Dr Maszlee Malik’s appointment as Education Minister, in response to critics citing his alleged “support” for controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

In a statement on Saturday, Ong said these views are “not necessarily correct”.

“Firstly, his CV is impressive and he should not be pigeonholed as ‘just’ an ‘Islamic scholar’,” said the DAP parliamentarian, citing Dr Maszlee’s background from his profile page on the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).

Dr Maszlee, who is currently a senior fellow at Ideas, has taught at Durham University and was invited as a guest speaker for the SOAS summer school for Political Islam for two consecutive years (2009-2010) to speak on the topic ‘Political Islamic Movements in South-East Asia’.

He also has “vast experience” doing NGO charity work in Lebanon and Jordan (since 2004), which has given him crucial insight into the politics and social dynamics of the Middle East.

The site further adds that Dr Maszlee currently teaches as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

His research area is in “Islamic Jurisprudence, Contemporary Islamic Political Thoughts and Movements and Good Governance”, said Ong, noting that Dr Maszlee has also published a book entitled: Foundations of Islamic Governance: A South-East Asian Perspective (Routledge Studies on Islam and Muslims in South-East Asia).

“For your information, Routledge is an established publisher of repute. The main aim of this book is to show that principles of good governance can be found throughout Islam,” he explained.

According to Ong, Dr Maszlee has spoken at a few DAP internal dialogues.

“He has discussed many issues surrounding good governance and good administration with many DAP MPs including myself, Liew Chin Tong, Zairil Khir Johari, Steven Sim and Lim Kit Siang,” he said.

Ong also cited an opinion piece from an online portal, which tackled the issue of Dr Maszlee's so-called “support” of Zakir Naik.

However, an excerpt quoting the Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF), which was co-written by Dr Maszlee, said that they did not agree to Zakir Naik's "combative" approach in spreading Islam, but supported his right to give his views.

"The MPF has stood on the sidelines since Zakir Naik’s early presence in Malaysia because we do not subscribe to his dialectical and combative approach, overbearing Islam over others, conscious or unconsciously proselytising, oftentimes oblivious of the local context and demography," said the opinion piece.

At the same time, said Ong, they support his right to have his views heard on the following basis: "However, we do not overtly criticise Zakir Naik and his following, of his style and his methodology, because it is his ijtihad (juristic opinion) and prerogative vis a vis the deliverance of Islam’s message of peace and mercy."

Ong opined that the task facing Dr. Maszlee is immense.

“Let's help him by giving him suggestions on how we can improve our education system rather than judging him based on a superficial reading of who he is and what he represents,” he added.