The editor of a Malaysian tabloid was suspended today after being criticised by the government for publishing several pages filled with sex-related stories and pictures.

"The editor of the Malay Mail and Weekend Mail was served a suspension starting today as part of the appropriate steps of an on-going inquiry into this matter," the Malay Mail newspaper said.

The tabloid's editor and chief operating officer is Mohd Zulkifli Abd Jalil who just joined the daily early this year from a men's magazine.

It said the deputy group editor of its sister publication New Straits Times , Nadzri Syed Harun, would now oversee its editorial operations while an investigation ensued.

The Weekend Malay Mail newspaper on Saturday ran stories about what Malaysians think about sex with the bold words "Let's talk about sex", on the front page.

The newspaper ran pictures of pregnant women in bikinis, a woman performing an erotic dance and a couple kissing.

The newspaper said it interviewed 100 people between the ages of 18 and 35, and found that sex was no longer a taboo and people were comfortable talking about it.

'Downright vulgar'

But the contents did not go down well with the government.

"The media going overboard in exploiting sex will only worsen our social problems," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying in the Star newspaper.

"The feature spoke of this and that position and I am not talking about positions during a football game or the Middle East position," he reportedly said.

He added the newspaper should not have carried articles that "elaborate in detail" sex positions just to make a profit from public interest.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil was reported as saying the Malay Mail had been "irresponsible and downright vulgar".