The Home Affairs Ministry's continued delay in approving the distribution of Hong Kong-based weeklies Far Eastern Economic Review and Asiaweek since the beginning of this month is a form of punishment for their negative reporting on Malaysia.

Universiti Sains Malaysia communications lecturer Zaharom Nain told malaysiakini that this may be due to the pettiness of those involved in the ministry to make life difficult for the two publications.

"There are two issues here. First, it is the paranoia of the people in power to be doubly sure that the negative reports do not occur again.

"Secondly, it may be the small-mindedness or pettiness of those involved who say, 'You screwed us up, now we make your life difficult,'" he said when contacted today.

Zaharom added that the reason behind the delay could not be more sinister as the ministry "cannot afford more bad press".

The two foreign magazines have been plagued with three consecutive delays in the approval for their sale in Malaysia and the ministry has refused to comment on them, much less give reasons for the hold-ups.

The March 8 and 15 copies of Review and March 9 and 16 issues of Asiaweek have not yet been approved for distribution although the magazines 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.

No explanation

A spokesperson for the magazines' local distributor, Magazine Services (M) Sdn Bhd, said today that the ministry has kept silent about the delays.

She 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.

The March 22 and 23 issues of Review and Asiaweek which should hit the newsstands over the weekend are expected to be handed in to the ministry for censorship tomorrow.

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 Review and Asiaweek have a readership of 15,000 and 25,000 respectively in Malaysia, one of the biggest markets for both magazines.

Internet versions of the current editions of both magazines are online.