He outraged Malaysians this week with his remark that the Perodua Kelisa is "the worst car... in the world" was brought up in parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

But Malaysia was not the only nation that BBC's Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has criticised.

"Most Americans barely have the brains to walk on their back legs", he wrote in a column in The Sun newspaper in September 2005 after visiting New Orleans in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The 47-year-old's outspoken, macho image has made Top Gear one of the most popular motoring shows on television.

Clarkson was a columnist for Performance Car magazine before he joined BBC's show in 1998 and raised its viewership from several hundred thousand to more than six million.

"It's tremendously popular," Top Gear magazine editor Michael Harvey of the TV series told the BBC.

MOST PIRATED TV SHOW

"We know that the show is the most pirated TV show in the world, beating programmes like Lost and Desperate Housewives."

It is shown in more than 100 countries, and the magazine is the UK's biggest-selling car magazine.

But not all are smitten by him.

Companies that he takes aims at despair at the caustic remarks he makes about them.

Understandably so.

Clarkson has described the Vauxhall Vectra as "one of my least favourite cars in the world. I've always hated it because I've always felt it was designed in a coffee break by people who couldn't care less about cars".

And in a review of the Mark One Vectra, Clarkson remained mute and drummed his fingers on the roof of the car for a full minute.

Naturally, Clarkson was fingered when sales of the model floundered and parent company General Motors shut down the Vauxhall factory in Luton, England.

Then there was the time when he said he would "rather have bird flu" than a Corvette Z06.

When he called the Toyota Corolla 'dull', the company banned him from test-driving all its cars.

There was a corporate sigh of relief when he left Top Gear in 1999. And the show's viewership took a dive.

Then just as BBC was mulling moving the series to another channel, Clarkson rejoined the team in 2001.

The show also drew flak from government quarters for its outrageous stunts.

In 2005, he was quoted as saying: "I do have a disregard for the environment. I think the world can look after itself and we should enjoy it as best we can."

This was said before he had a custard pie thrown in his face after he picked up an honorary degree at the Oxford Brookes University.

In deadpan humour, he remarked that it was a 'great shot'.

Last July, the BBC received complaints against him after he described a car as 'a bit gay' and 'very ginger beer', which his audience read as a rhyming slang for 'queer'.

While the BBC agreed that his remarks could offend and should not have been made, it also said 'provocative comments' by sarcastic presenters should not be taken seriously.

At that time, the BBC had received 500 complaints against the show's presenters in a span of six months.

For all his rude personality, Clarkson was raised in a rather genteel household.

His family made money from the Paddington Bear franchise. He earned his driving licence driving his grandfather's R-type Bentley, according to The Independent.

One of his ancestors manufactured the screw-topped Kilner jar, sealed with a rubber ring to preserve food, which was exported all over the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The modern-day Clarkson may have his day in British history if fans have their way. There are several online petitions calling for him to run for prime minister.