Controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik apologised to Malaysians on Tuesday, Aug. 20 for making racially sensitive remarks in Malaysia.

His apology comes a day after he was questioned by police for 10 hours on Monday over the comments.

He faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India, and has lived in Malaysia for about three years.

He has permanent residency in Malaysia.

Banned from speaking

Authorities have now barred the fugitive preacher from delivering public talks in all states in Malaysia, Malay Mail reported.

The Malaysian newspaper had confirmed a circular detailing the order.

This was done in the interest of national security, police said.

Zakir’s religious talks are infuriating due to his combative style of propagating Islam.

Seven Malaysian states are barring Zakir from publicly speaking: Melaka, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak.

What Zakir said

His speech earlier this month pitted Malaysia's ethnic and religious minorities against the predominantly Muslim Malay majority.

He said Hindus in Malaysia had "100 times more rights" than the Muslim minority in India, and that Malaysian Chinese were guests of the country.

Zakir has been publicly blasted for his comments.

Muslims make up about 60 percent of Malaysia's 32 million people.

The rest are mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians, most of whom are Hindus.

Not a racist

While Zakir apologised for his remarks, he insisted he was not a racist.

He said his detractors had taken his comments out of context and added "strange fabrications to them".

Zakir's Tuesday statement said: "It was never my intention to upset any individual or community."

"It is against the basic tenets of Islam, and I would like to convey my heartfelt apologies for this misunderstanding."

Calls for his expulsion

Several ministers called for his expulsion.

Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Sunday Zakir was free to preach about Islam, but should not speak about Malaysia's racial politics.

Mahathir said that Zakir had crossed the line when he told ethnic Chinese to “go back” and questioned the loyalty of Malaysian-Indians in two separate instances.

The prime minister labelled the Mumbai-born preacher’s words incendiary.

The Langkawi MP also said Zakir had transgressed his privilege as a foreigner with PR status by issuing political statements.

Mahathir said he he backs police investigation against the Indian fugitive.

Tough rhetoric

The defiant preacher had issued a statement aimed at the Malaysian-Chinese, saying they should “go back” first since they too are seen as “immigrants”.

Zakir said the assertion was made in response to the community’s demand that he be deported back to India.

The Malaysian government has otherwise been seen as sympathetic towards the popular evangelist.

Despite Zakir's rhetoric, Mahathir has said sending the preacher back to India may get him killed.

Mahathir was open to other countries taking Zakir in.

Top photo via Bernama