Since the beginning of this month, Hong Kong-based weeklies Far Eastern Economic Review and Asiaweek have been plagued with unusual delays in the approval for their sale in Malaysia and there appears to have been no let-up where their latest editions are concerned.

The March 15 copy of Review and March 16 Asiaweek have not been approved for distribution although the magazines can usually hit the streets six days before the cover date.

The Home Affairs Ministry had earlier delayed the March 1 and 2 editions of Review and Asiaweek by two and three weeks respectively, with the latter approved for distribution last Wednesday and the former a week before that. ([#1] Asiaweek finally hits the stands, three weeks later [/#], March 8)

However, the distribution of the March 8 and 9 issues of the Far Eastern Economic Review and Asiaweek has been delayed for almost two weeks and there has been no word from the ministry on what could be the problem.

Ministry mum

Contacted in Hong Kong today, Review editor and publisher Philip Revzin said, "We have not asked for an explanation and they (ministry) have not offered us an explanation. However, we would comply with the rules and regulations and hope that they will speed up the approval."

Attempts to contact the ministry's official for comments were unsuccessful.

The magazines' local distributor, Magazine Services (M) Sdn Bhd, told malaysiakini earlier that the release letters for the sale of the foreign publications are usually given at the beginning of each week after a few copies are submitted for vetting at the end of the week before.

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

Contentious articles

Asiaweek first got into hot soup with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad this year following the publication of an unflattering photo of him in its Jan 26 issue, which Mahathir had said was an attempt to portray him as an 'idiot'.

The March 2 Asiaweek edition featured two possibly contentious articles on Malaysia.

The first, "[#2] 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 a Muslim rebel leader wanted on murder charges by the Philippine government, had ties with Malaysian businessmen, and even Malaysian Information Minister Khalil Yaakob.

In another article, "[#3] Building a legacy [/#]", Arjuna Ranawana, writing about rulers who have sought to perpetuate their legacies by constructing monumental buildings and cities, cited Mahathir and Putrajaya as an example.

As for the Review , it carried an article by Lorien Holland, entitled "[#4] Shaking the party grip on power [/#]", which stated that the recent Malay gathering organised by the Malay Action Front had created a fear within Umno on its grip of a half-century of political dominance.

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.