The Malaysian cabinet has decided to suspend the license of the Sarawak Tribune indefinitely for reproducing controversial caricatures of Prophet Mohammed, local media reported Thursday.

The English-language newspaper became the fourth publication in the history of this country to have its publication permit suspended, The New Straits Times (NST) reported.

Cabinet members on Wednesday unanimously agreed with Prime Minister Addullah Ahmad Badawi that the reproduction of the offensive caricatures was a serious offense which demanded stern action, the report said.

Sources told the NST that the cabinet also felt the incident should be thoroughly investigated as a criminal offense.

"I think the police will be conducting an in-depth investigation into this matter, and if necessary legal action will be instituted against individuals directly involved," said the unnamed source.

An editor of the Sarawak Tribune reproduced those cartoons on Saturday's edition to illustrate a foreign news agency story. After receiving complaints from local Muslims, the publisher and the editorial committee issued a joint statement on Sunday, expressing their profound regret over the matter while stressing the editor on duty had resigned after admitting his oversight and deciding to take full responsibility for it.

Nevertheless, this Tuesday, the group editor and senior management of the newspaper, who had received a show-cause letter from the Internal Security Ministry, went to Putrajaya, administrative center of Malaysia, to explain the matter.

The newspaper, whose two printing plants are based in Kuching and Bintulu in eastern Malaysia, has a daily circulation of about 25,000 and a staff strength of about 300.

Source: Xinhua