The Malaysian government has finally given the nod for cinemas to screen Hollywood comedy "Bruce Almighty" despite a minister's complaints that it was against Islamic beliefs.

The movie was set to debut in cinemas here Thursday but was postponed after minister for religious affairs, Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin, said the movie, in which star Jim Carrey is given divine powers and challenged by God to do a better job of running the world, was "not appropriate".

"We cannot equate ourself with God almighty even as a joke," he said.

But a home ministry official told Saturday's the Star newspaper that the government had given the go-ahead for the movie to be screened.

He said the decision was made after the movie was viewed and assessed several times by various government officials including those from the Islamic Development Department and the film censorship board.

No other details were available and officials could not be reached for comment.

Malaysia, which has a mainly Muslim population, regularly censors movies and television shows deemed offensive on religious or sexual grounds. - AFP