translation The online poll featured in the Perak Mufti Department's official website on the issue of the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad was removed from the site today after it came under fire.

Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria issued the directive after he was alerted that the poll had caused uneasiness among some people over one of the six answers provided in the multiple-choice questionnaire.

He also expressed shock over the particular answer "Hunt and kill them or launch war against them" which he described as "absolutely not suitable".

Harussani explained that he was not informed about the online poll earlier as he was occupied with many official functions.

The state religious agency's official website, which is carrying an on-going poll on the issue, asked visitors for their views on the "most appropriate action to be taken against those who insult the Prophet Muhammad".

Other answers

Yesterday, a malaysiakini reader has expressed uneasiness over the "Hunt and kill them" response. He said the inclusion of such an answer in the online poll was "provocative" and "dangerous".

The other answers in the poll are:

1) Invite those involved to attend counselling sessions.

2) Boycott and cut diplomatic ties completely with these people.

3) Boycott and cut diplomatic ties until they publicly apologise.

4) Just ignore them.

5) Don't know what should be done.

Commenting on the issue, Harussani opined that holding protests and demonstrations would not bring any good to the Muslim community.

"Just see what happened in many Islamic countries where there were protests against the caricature. Those who died in the course of holding such protests are all Muslims, and not the enemies of Islam," he said.

Not department's views

According to the mufti, the most effective way to deal with the issue is to boycott the products from countries which have insulted Islam, including Denmark.

He said the Arab nations were doing it now and other Muslim countries should follow suit.

Meanwhile, the webmaster of the Perak Mufti Department's official website, Radzuan Abdul Rani, told malaysiakini that the answers provided in the multiple-choice questionnaire did not reflect the views of the department.

"We have provided different answers in order to gauge the public's response, in particular the Muslims. We do realise that there are people who are passive and even agressive, while some are proactive.

"And based on their responds, we would be able to evaluate their reactions and opinions on the matter. It was not intended to provoke anyone," he explained.

According to Radzuan, Harussani has instructed him to remove 'offensive' answer on the poll page.

A check by malaysiakini today revealed that the entire poll has been removed from the Perak Mufti Department's official site and replaced by a new opinion poll.