The controversy over the publication of Prophet Muhammad's caricatures by the Sarawak Tribune should serve as a stern warning to everyone not to play with racial, religious and cultural issues.

Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu said tolerance had remained a vital key to racial and religious harmony in the country and it should be preserved by all parties at all costs.

"We must be very careful on matters relating to religion and racial relations so that nobody will be offended. We must respect religious tolerance," he was quoted by Bernama as saying in Kuching today.

Jabu said even Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud had exercised caution when dealing with issues relating to other religions.

He cited as example Taib's refusal to allow a group to bring in a movie on Christianity to Sarawak.

"The chief minister said don't bring the film to Sarawak, it will offend the feelings of my Christian brothers and sisters," he said.

The Sarawak Tribune , the state's oldest newspaper, is owned by Sarawak Press Sdn Bhd, which is a company linked to Taib's family business interests.

Exercise caution

Commenting on the same issue, Information Deputy Minister Zainuddin Maidin said Muslims in the country must exercise caution and rationale when dealing with such controversies.

He said they must not be carried away by manipulations of the western media trying to distract attention on real issues at hand such as the killings of innocent people in other countries, particularly fellow Muslims.

"They (western media) has succeeded in distracting and diverting attention on the issue of the killings of innocent people," he added.