KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police on Monday questioned a controversial IndianIslamic preacher for allegedly making insensitive remarks about race in themulti-ethnic country, as pressure mounts on authorities to kick him out.

Zakir Naik, a radical television preacher who has called the 9/11 attacksan “inside job”, left India in 2016 and moved to largely Muslim Malaysia,where he was granted permanent residency.

He is wanted in India for inciting extremism and money laundering, and NewDelhi last year asked Malaysia to extradite him, according to reports — arequest that was rejected.

Calls are now mounting for action after Naik said Hindus in Malaysia have“100 times” more rights than India’s Muslim minority, and suggested ChineseMalaysians should be expelled before he was.

Several cabinet ministers have publicly called for Naik to be kicked out,while even Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he had crossed the line.

His lawyer, Akberdin Abdul Kader, said that Naik was “being interviewed bythe police” for a second day Monday, after first being hauled in last week.

He is accused of making an intentional insult aimed at provoking a breachof the peace, according to state news agency Bernama.

Mahathir said that Naik “can preach but he wasn’t doing that… he wastalking about sending the Chinese back to China, Indians back to India,that’s for me a political move”, according to the news agency.

The government has in the past appeared reluctant to move against Naik forfear it could upset some Muslims as well as provide ammunition to politicalopponents.

In 2010 Naik — who founded the *Peace TV* channel, which has a huge globalfollowing — was barred from entering Britain.

In a July 2008 broadcast Naik suggested that Al Qaeda was not responsiblefor the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

“Even a fool will know that this was an inside job,” he said in the video,claiming then-President George W. Bush was behind the plot. -APP/AFP