The controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, which has sparked virulent protests worldwide, has claimed yet another victim in Malaysia.

Chinese-language afternoon daily Berita Petang becomes the second newspaper in Sarawak to be suspended by the government for reproducing the caricatures considered blasphemous by Muslims.

According to Bernama , the Internal Security Ministry has issued a two-week suspension effective tomorrow to the newspaper as a punishment for publishing a "seditious article" entitled 'We are prepared to launch a Holy War' in its Feb 4 edition.

The article was accompanied by a number of the 12 offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, which were first published by a Danish newspaper last September.

In the wake of worldwide protests, the government had ordered a ban on the "printing, importing, producing, re-producing, publishing, sale, manufacturing and distributing" of the caricatures as they could "harm public peace and security".

Berita Petang is the third newspaper to have its publishing permit suspended by the government in just as many weeks.

Two weeks ago, English-language daily Sarawak Tribune was suspended indefinitely while last week, the evening edition of Chinese-language Guangming Daily was slapped with a two-week suspension.

Both had carried a wire service photo depicting a reader with a foreign newspaper which had reprinted one of the caricatures.

Another daily, 160-year-old New Straits Times faced an almost similar fate but got away scot free after the government yesterday accepted its front-page apology over the publication of a syndicated cartoon which lampooned the caricature issue.

Meanwhile, the government is mulling action against state-owned television station RTM's TV2 for airing footages showing the caricatures. It is believed that the other three free-to-air stations - state-owed TV1 and Umno-linked TV3 and ntv7 - had also broadcasted similar images.

Founded by Sibu businessmen

Berita Petang , which is Sarawak's only afternoon Chinese daily, was founded in the early 70s by a group of Sibu businessmen.

It was bought over by the International Times Press Sdn Bhd, owned by the late Wee Boon Ping, a former president of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce Malaysia, in the early 90s.

The group which also publishes the International Times , a popular Chinese daily in Kuching, is now managed by Wee's eldest son, Wee Kok Tiong.

The junior Wee was ruling Barisan National's candidate who lost the Bandar Kuching parliamentary seat to the DAP in the 2004 general election.

Both the International Times and Berita Petang are said to be doing well as they are supported by the Chinese business community. The two dailies are known to be the more liberal among Sarawak's seven Chinese newspapers.