An editor of an English-language newspaper in eastern Malaysia has resign after reprinting the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed, local media reported Monday.

The editor of the Sarawak Tribune admitted his oversight and resigned after reproducing those caricatures on the Saturday's issue of the newspaper, according to the reports of the New Straits Times.

"The editor concerned has admitted and regretted his oversight, officially written an apology and taken full and sole responsibility for the same," the publisher Sarawak Press and the editorial committee was quoted as saying.

The publisher and the editorial committee made the remarks in a joint statement published on the front page of the Sunday Tribune.

The two parties also expressed profound regret over the "unauthorized publication of a news extract from a foreign newspaper".

Internal inquiry revealed that the editor responsible had done it "all alone by himself without authority and compliance with the prescribed procedures as required for such news, " said the joint statement.

Meanwhile, Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye said a show-cause letter would be issued against the Sarawak Tribune for publishing the caricatures and illustrations which touched on religious sensitivities.

Although the newspaper had taken action by asking the editor to resign, the newspaper would still have to explain its action, Chia said on Sunday.

"If their explanation is unsatisfactory, their printing permit can be suspended or withdrawn. This is provided for in the Printing Presses and Publications Act," Chia said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday expresses his deepest regret over publication of those defamatory caricatures in some newspapers and journals in Europe and asked those newspapers as well as journals concerned to cease doing so.

Source: Xinhua