The Sarawak Tribune, the state's oldest English daily, has been suspended indefinitely.

The order from the Internal Security Ministry to revoke the publication permit of the newspaper was made after a cabinet meeting yesterday.

The ministry is expected to deliver an official letter later today to inform the management of the paper about the cabinet decision to suspend its printing permit indefinitely for contravening the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

Several national newspapers today carried news of the cabinet decision.

In Kuching, there is an air of gloom and concern in the offices of the daily throughout the state. It has printing plants in Kuching, Sibu and Bintulu. It employs 300 people.

The daily owners, Sarawak Press Sdn Bhd board of directors, are holding an emergency meeting in Sibu this morning to discuss the latest development. The board chairperson is Awang Bemee, the state assemblyperson for Nangka and also chairperson of Kuching Port Authority.

Statements from staff

Sarawak Commissioner of Police Talib Jamal told reporters this morning that police were calling in the paper's senior editorial and management staff to take their statements in the on-going investigation under the Printing Presses and Publication Act.

The errant editor responsible for publishing the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad who had admitted his oversight and apologised gave a statement to the police on Tuesday.

He was also accused of being solely responsible for publishing the offensive caricature by his former bosses but he claimed otherwise.

Meanwhile, the Sarawak Tribune was out in the street as usual today, with the front-page lead about the announcement on the state Barisan Nasional's election manifesto made by Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu at a function he officiated on behalf of the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

There was only a single news item related to the existing problems facing the paper. It was placed inside page about security being tightened around the paper's premises following news that there would be anti-Sarawak Tribune demonstrations which did not take place.

The Sarawak Tribune's rival, The Borneo Post, however, gave more coverage to the news, including comments by the Sarawak Tribune editorial advsor Idris Buang as well as a reply by the group editor Toman Mamora in response to his ex-editor who had said earlier his superior had seen the final copy before it was sent for printing.

The Sarawak Tribune did not carry the latest comments by Idris who told The Borneo Post yesterday his paper was working as usual and that he had not received any notice from the Internal Security Ministry yet.

But he said he had heard the paper would be suspended indefinitely.

Toman in defending himself against his ex subordinate's claim that he had cleared the final copy before printing said: "I am completely infuriated and dismayed by the shocking and blatant lie lunged at me by the ex editor (whom he named) through the media on Wednesday."

In his statement, Toman said: "He did not consult his immediate superior or myself of his intention to insert the caricature but decided to publish it without authorisation and not in compliance with established practices and procedures and the KDN guideline."

What is surprising is that the group editor's statement was not carried in the Sarawak Tribune today.

Group editor sacked?

Already, talk among media people in Kuching is that the group editor may also have to face the music and that action might be taken against him.

Later this afternoon, malaysiakini reliably learnt that the daily's directors at its emergency meeting this morning had decided to remove the group editor.

According to a Tribune staff in Kuching, Toman has not been to the office since he returned from a meeting with the Internal Security Ministry in Kuala Lumpur.

The Sarawak Tribune was first published in 1945. It was initially owned by a group of businessmen but its takeover by a company linked to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud in the 80's has turned the paper into a highly politicised publication.

This has caused the paper to suffer a drastic drop in circulation in recent years.