Gov't 'satisfied' with apology from Time magazine

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Malaysia was "satisfied" with an apology from Time magazine and will not take legal action against the publication for an article which allegedly tarnished the country's image, a minister said yesterday.

"The incident has ended, the cabinet is satisfied. It's alright if someone says it's a mistake and seeks an apology, we accept it," said Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir.

Time 's Feb 11 issue carried reports claiming that Malaysia was a regional financial and planning hub linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The international magazine had also angered the government when the same issue carried a cover picture of the Malaysian flag as the backdrop for a pair of crossed automatic rifles.

Abdul Kadir said he received a letter dated Feb 28 which stated the magazines apologies for any "problem which could have been created".

Error of judgement

"We don't want to take action (against Time ). They said it was an error of judgement. It seems the decision to put the cover was made at the last moment," he was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying.

Last month, the government blocked the distribution of three international news magazines, including Time, apparently out of displeasure over their coverage of issues including Islam and terrorism.

At least four issues of Time , Newsweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review had been withheld for "inaccurate and untrue reporting of the situation in Malaysia," said Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung.

The government, however, denied any crackdown on foreign publications, with the home minister's press secretary Rohaizad Abdul Rahim telling AFP the delays in releasing the magazines could be due to many reasons.



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