A delegation of top editors from Guangming Daily and its sister publication Sin Chew Daily met with officials from the Internal Security Ministry today over the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

However, the daily's top editors led by group editor-in-chief Siew Nyoke Chow declined to speak to reporters after the meeting.

Last week, Guangming was faced with the possibility of being suspended after publishing a photograph of a reader holding a foreign newspaper containing the caricatures.

According to a source, the daily appears to be 'safe' but he could not provide details of the meeting in Putrajaya.

He said Guangming staff have been informed by the management via email not to believe rumours on the fate of the newspaper, or to talk to outsiders about the issue.

They are also not expecting an editorial reshuffle or heads to roll over the matter, he added.

However, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar and Sin Chew Media Corporation group editor-in-chief Siew could not be reached for comment.

Sin Chew Media Corporation is the publisher of both the dailies.

The caricatures, first published in a Danish newspaper last year, have ignited worldwide protests and condemnation.

Last week, East Malaysian-based newspaper Sarawak Tribune was slapped with an indefinite suspension for publishing the caricatures.

Don't exploit

In a related development, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) expressed concern over the possibility that Guangming could also suffer a similar fate.

In a statement today, its vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye said while PKR condemned any media for spreading derogatory views against a particular religion or community, the situation however should not be exploited.

He said the question at hand is not setting limits to press freedom but instead the media should be given sufficient liberty to perform its functions properly.

As opposed to curtailing media freedom, Lee called for greater space for public discussions to help educate the public.

"We caution the authorities not to be overzealous in penalising the media for its mistakes and negligence. The ruling power should not exploit public sentiment against certain irresponsible individuals in the media to legitimise media censorship," he said.