KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The police have confirmed that they have started looking for the man who was shown harassing a beer promoter along racial and religious lines in a hypermarket this week.

Ampang Jaya district police chief Asst Comm Hamzah Alias confirmed with Malay Mail that an investigation is currently ongoing.

"We are still trying to locate the individual involved [in the case].

"Investigations are being carried out under Section 509 of the Penal Code,” he explained.

Section 509 handles offences where words or gestures were used with the intention to insult the modesty of a person.

The offence carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, or a fine, or both upon conviction.

This comes as Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng lodged a report earlier today, urging the police to take stern action against the man.

Lim also said finding the culprit would put an end to the racial tension that stemmed from the incident.

The 45-second viral video, which was first posted on Facebook by a user under the name "Edi Rejang”, has since gone viral.

In the clip, a man, presumably Edi himself, was heard aggressively asking a woman beer promoter about her race, and if she was offering samples of the alcoholic beverage to everyone in the supermarket.

Despite the confrontational attitude, the woman calmly explained that she is only offering them to non-Muslims in the non-halal section. Her demeanour and response have since been praised by many members of the public.

The video and profile of the man was then closed to the public, though not before it was saved and replicated elsewhere by other social media users, attracting thousands of comments and views.