Last week's edition of regional weekly magazine Asiaweek , with the cover date of March 2, appeared to have been banned by the Home Ministry.

An official from the Asiaweek customer service department in Kuala Lumpur told malaysiakini that they are still unable to distribute last week's copies of the magazine to their subscribers and vendors.

Meanwhile, another international weekly, the Far Eastern Economic Review , has obtained its approval letter from the government to distribute its March 1 issue over the weekend, after a delay of about a week.

However, the latest edition of both magazines due to hit the streets today are still being held back as no approval has been given for their distribution.

The magazines' Malaysian distributor, Magazine Services (M) Sdn Bhd, had earlier told malaysiakini that the release letters for the sale of the foreign publications were usually given at the beginning of each week.

"Normally, we will submit the latest copies of the magazines to the ministry for censorship purposes on Fridays and their approval will come the next day or if not, by the following Monday," said the official.

The magazines will then be sold to the public as well as sent to subscribers six days before their cover date, he added.

Attempts by malaysiakini to reach Home Ministry officials for comment were unsuccessful.

'Idiot'

Asiaweek 's predicament began following the publication of a photo of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the Jan 26 issue of the magazine. Mahathir, who had given an interview to the magazine, had noted his displeasure with the picture which he said was an attempt by the magazine to portray him as an 'idiot'.

Last week's issue of Asiaweek had two articles referring to Malaysia.

The first, "[#1] The new crusade[/#] " by Roger Mitton, was about the rise of radical Islam in Southeast Asia. It alleged that the Moro fighters are supported by the Malaysian government, insinuating that Malaysian businessmen, and even Malaysian Information Minister Khalil Yaakob, had ties with a Muslim rebel leader who is wanted on murder charges by the Philippine government.

In another article, "[#2] Building a legacy[/#] ", writer Arjuna Ranawana asserted that many rulers, from the Mughals of India to Asia's post-colonial leaders, have sought to perpetuate their legacies by constructing buildings and cities that they hope will last beyond their time.

Mentioning Mahathir as an example, he said Malaysia's new administrative capital Putrajaya had Mahathir's personality stamped on it, even if it is named after the country's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.

The Review and Asiaweek have a readership of 15,000 and 25,000 respectively in Malaysia.

Internet versions of the current editions of both magazines are already online. However, there are no controversial articles on the country in both the magazines this week.