The Malaysian Home Ministry sent a letter to the Herald warning that its June editions had "committed offenses" by highlighting the country’s politics instead of discussing the Christian issues for which it has been licensed.
The published letter charged the Herald of "threatening public peace and national security” because it allegedly "denigrated Islamic teachings." The ministry’s letter warned it “would not hesitate to take sterner action” if the paper repeats its alleged offenses.
If the weekly refuses, the ministry will likely suspend its publication, news reports quoted an officials as saying on condition of anonymity. Catholic observers say that like all media outlets in the country The Herald, is required to obtain government licenses which must be renewed annually.
ALLEGATIONS DENIED
Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, denied the allegations. “We comment on issues. The Pope comments on issues,” he said in a statement. It is normal for the newspaper to have an "ethical interpretation" of current events and politics, he added.
"I don’t think we were in any way going against the type of content we have chosen," Andrew said.
Father Andrew said one of the articles in question, titled "America and Jihad: Where do they stand?" was an analysis of circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and had not mocked Islam.
This was not the first time the Herald raised eyebrows among officials. In the past year the paper has been in a court dispute with the government over its use of the word “Allah” as a Malay translation for the word "God." The government has argued the usage would confuse Muslims while the newspaper insists it uses the word “Allah” as it has been used for centuries in the Malay language.
A representative of another Malaysian publication, the Catholic Asian News, said it also recently received a warning letter about raising political issues, but declined to elaborate. Dissatisfaction with court rulings over the right to leave Islam, along with religious spats such as the demolition of Hindu temples by state authorities, contributed to the government’s poor performance in March elections, analysts say.
