An opposition party and a non-governmental organisation warned that the Sarawak Tribune's blunder in re-publishing the offensive caricature of Prophet Muhammad is not a "license" for the government to abuse press freedom.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) said although the Sarawak daily must apologise for its "idiocy" in re-publishing the cartoon, the government cannot use the incident to further trample on the rights and liberty of Malaysians under the name of preserving social harmony.

"We should not allow the Barisan Nasional government to use the blunder of Sarawak Tribune as a pretext to muzzle the media - especially as the Sarawak state election would be held anytime now.

"PKR insists that press freedom must be defended and strengthened as it is the only effective means to check corruption and abuses of power," its information chief Tian Chua said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organisations Charter 2000 and Aliran expressed similar fears stating they would oppose any attempt by the government to control the media through censorship under threat of closure.

"It is of course, within the government's right to restraint on matters that have the potential of formenting violence. But we do not believe that in a democracy, it is the government's right to issue "show cause" letters.

"If there has been hurt, the aggrieved parties have recoure to our courts to sue the offending publication under any number of laws," said joint coordinators Dr Mustafa Kamal Anuar and Anil Netto.

Paper's idiocy

The offensive cartoons - which was first appeared in a Danish newspaper last September and then later re-hatched by publications in a few other European countries including Norway and France - include one which depicts the Prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. According to Islam, any images of the Prophet are banned.

The Sarawak-based newspaper had used one of the caricatures to accompany a foreign news agency report about violent demonstrations that flared up in many parts of the world.

Tian also called on the Sarawak Tribune's management to apologise and take measures to ensure no repetition of such mistakes.

"We are in fact amazed with the idiocy of the decision by Sarawak Tribune to reprint one of the controversial cartoons that have been widely seen as distasteful and insulting," he said.

He said considering that Malaysia's multi-ethnic and multi-racial background, it was inconceivable that the editorial team of the Sarawak daily to be unaware of the sensitivity of the issue.

"It is even more incredible that the provocative caricature was published after it had triggered worldwide anger and weeks of furious protests," said Tian who described the caricature as a "misrepresentation of Islam" and "perpetuates racist discrimination" against Muslims".

Mature Malaysians

Charter 2000 and Aliran too were appalled by the daily's "serious lapse of good judgement" stating that the entire episode was "clearly inappropriate and provocative,"

"We hold that the principle that press freedom in a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic world carries with it the responsibility to refrain from gratuitous insult and hurt, more so when it involves the sacred and central beliefs of the faithful of all religions

"There is no humour in gratuitously poking someone in the eye and then telling that person to have a sense of humour!"

It also commended Malaysians for their maturity in dealing with the entire controversy stating that they have demonstrated a degree of social civility.

"We have nothing to gain, as Muslims and Malaysians, and everything to lose in any exercise of violence.