The government's sensitivities towards foreign press reports have not o­nly affected the distribution of the Economist but also that of rival magazine, the Far Eastern Economic Review ( Feer ), whose last three editions have been held back by the Home Ministry.

Magazine distributor Transforma Sdn Bhd yesterday confirmed that three of the latest Feer issues - dated April 24, May 1 and May 8 - have been delayed at the Home Ministry's censorship board while three issues of the Economist over the same period were given the green light for circulation today.

According to a spokesperson for the distributor, no reasons were given for the holding back of the foreign magazines.

Asked if the long delays by the Home Ministry were common, the spokesperson who declined to be named said, "You can say that. It happens to all the magazines."

A check at Feer' s website revealed that the magazine published an article titled ' Turning back the clock ' o­n April 24 o­n the restructuring of Renong and the Lion group - two of the country's largest corporate debtors during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The May 1 issue carried a report o­n the future prospects of national car-maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional when the Asean Free Trade Area becomes a reality while the May 8 edition contained an article o­n the decline in green leatherback turtle numbers o­n the east coast, partly due to the local tourism industry and partly to botched attempts at conservation.

Regular delays

Meanwhile, the release of three issues of the Economist hinted at an end to the magazine's troubles with the Home Ministry after the publication of a controversial survey o­n Malaysia last month.

The magazine's April 26, May 3 and May 10 editions were subjected to delays believed to be due to the censorship board's scrutiny of several articles o­n Malaysia including o­ne o­n the appeal hearing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

According to a subscriber of the magazine, the delays occur regularly.

"Sometimes, an issue is delayed for o­ne or two weeks," he said. There were occasions where he received two issues of the magazine at the same time.

The government had threatened to ban the London-based magazine after several Barisan Nasional leaders took exception to the magazine's critical assessment of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's achievements.

Last week, the magazine published a rebuttal letter by the National Economic Action Council - a government think tank - in response to the magazine's survey titled 'The Changing of the Guard - A Survey of Malaysia', while adding an editor's note to apologise for an error o­n the country's education quota policy.

It has been a government policy to hold back the distribution of foreign magazines in Malaysia should they contain articles critical of the country.