Usually staid, Malay-language daily Berita Harian today sparked controversy when it published a cartoon of the recent Japanese tsunami which has since claimed thousands of lives.

berita harian ultraman cartoon japan earthquake In the cartoon sketched by ‘Zoy’ which appeared on the op-ed page of Berita Harian ’s Sunday edition Berita Minggu, popular Japanese superhero figure Ultraman is seen running away from huge tsunami.

By mid-morning today, many Malaysians had since taken to social network websites and Twitter to voice their disgust and outrage with Berita Harian , with some even calling for a boycott of the paper.

An online petition page was also set up in protest of the cartoon, garnering 571 signature (at press time) within just several hours.

NONE Several politicians from both sides have also slammed the cartoon, calling it 'tasteless' and 'insensitive'.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar ( left ) tweeted: " Berita Harian should apologise over the publication of the cartoon which is completely insensitive towards the Japanese.

"It is highly unfortunate that the tsunami cartoon was published right below BH's group editor's column itself," he said.

Lembah Pantai MP and vice-president of the opposition PKR, Nurul Izzah Anwar ( below ), said the cartoon was in an extreme bad taste and does not represent Malaysians who are “in solidarity with our grieving friends in Japan".

Berita Harian sorry

After immense protests over the Internet, the daily posted a note of apology on their official Facebook page at about 2pm.

pkr congress 281110 nurul izzah anwar "Berita Harian apologises over the publication of the caricature regarding the tsunami and the earthquake in Japan in today's Berita Minggu.

"We never meant to make fun of the disaster which has struck the country, and we deeply sympathise and share in sadness with the people of Japan," it said.

Berita Harian 's group editor Mior Kamarul Shahid also wrote on his Twitter account, reiterating their regrets and apologies over the oversight.

The Friday's tsunami was the result of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Miyagi prefecture, sending 10-metre waves over houses and towns.

While the official death toll is more than 1000, tens of thousands more are missing or homeless with towns in threat of nuclear radiation after two reactors in Fukushima (250km away from Tokyo) are on the brink of meltdown.