Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar today slammed a local men's magazine for publishing a photograph of a semi-nude model draped in the national flag.

Noh said his ministry would investigate the publication of the "insensitive" photo.

It appeared in the August issue of " Sensasi Lelaki " (Men's Sensation) in conjunction with Malaysia's Independence Day on Aug 31.

Noh said the photo was a humiliation to the flag, a symbol of national pride and honour.

"The publisher is insensitive to the status and integrity of the national flag. The national flag is something sensitive. The parties concerned should give valid reasons for publishing the picture," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

"The ministry will investigate. Perhaps the people who published the picture do not know the significance of the status of the national flag or they are over-excited to celebrate Independence Day," he said.

Can withdraw permit

"If the company continues with such things, then its publishing permit will be withdrawn," Noh said.

The picture of the 23-year-old semi-nude stewardess and part-time model was splashed on the front cover and centre-spread pages of the RM5 magazine.

The Indian Muslim Congress of Malaysia lodged a police complaint about the photo and urged authorities to revoke the magazine's publishing permit.

"It is so humiliating, the picture does not reflect patriotism at all, it is just porn," Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay, acting president of the Indian Muslim Congress, was quoted by Sunday's Harian Metro paper as saying.

"There are so many ways to instil the spirit of independence, not by selling your body and the country's pride."