The staff were elated when the daily moved into its new four-storey building located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur two months ago as this signalled an expansion in operations.

Over the past six months, there was a sharp increase in sales as the fledgling daily provided widespread coverage on several controversial issues.

But on the evening of Aug 24, the gauntlet came crashing down - Makkal Osai was slapped with a one-month suspension .

Its staff are still reeling in shock while the management points the finger at MIC, namely party president S Samy Vellu.

The suspension followed the publication of an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a beer can under the 'Thought for the day' section two days earlier.

Malaysiakini visited the Tamil daily's office in Jalan Ipoh today. Anxiety and confusion were etched on the faces of its staff.

"We're very sad," lamented photojournalist Sri Vicknesh, 21, who has been with the daily since its inception.

"The suspension is too long. Everyone has a family to feed. I'm still shocked they (the government) acted so suddenly," he added.

His sentiments were echoed by his colleagues who also expressed concern about their future and livelihood.

According to the Internal Security Ministry, Makkal Osai can resume its operations on Sept 24.

The daily has about 100 staff nationwide. Despite the suspension, the editorial staff have been reporting to work as usual.

Backed by Samy Vellu's former estranged deputy S Subramaniam , two-year-old Makkal Osai has a daily circulation of over 25,000 copies.

'Human error'

Its general manager SM Periasamy also felt that the one-month suspension for what he termed as a 'human error' was too harsh.

"We did not intend to belittle any religion. This is a human error. We made a mistake and we owned up to it," he said, adding that the daily published two back-to-back frontpage apologies following the incident.

It has also suspended a veteran graphics artist who was responsible for the photo pending an internal inquiry.

A visibly vexed Periasamy then lashed out at MIC and the daily's rival Tamil Nesan , which is aligned to Samy Vellu.

"This matter was blown out of proportion by MIC and Tamil Nesan ," he charged.

"They ( Tamil Nesan ) wrote two to three pages on the matter. They reproduced the picture on Aug 23. But I don't want the government to take action against them. I don't want to put sand into the rice bowls of its workers," he added.

Periasamy said the management submitted an appeal letter to the Internal Security Ministry yesterday. Similar letters were also submitted to Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Maximus Ongkili.

"They made criticisms against our newspaper. So we have a duty to explain to them ourselves," he said.

'Completely unexpected'

Describing the suspension as "completely unexpected", Makkal Osai chief editor M Rajintheram said the daily was not given the opportunity to explain itself to the government.

"We have made some errors in the past, and we were issued show-cause letters. This time, all of a sudden, after three days, the paper was suspended.

"The Christian leaders accepted our apology and said the matter was closed. Some MIC leaders turned this into a political issue because of some hidden agenda. We have been writing about the Maika (debt-ridden investment arm of MIC) issue for a long time. The (Maika) AGM itself is this Friday.

"We are writing about this actress, (K) Sujatha's sudden death. So every day we have been carrying reports (on these issues)," he said.

Samy Vellu's son and Maika chief executive officer Vell Paari had been implicated in the actress' death but he has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, Rajintheram said the suspension was particularly stinging because the image was from a section that was meant to foster inter-communal relations.

"It was a noble intention. Every day, we carry the words of great leaders, local and international philosophers. We used to carry phrases from Jesus in the past without making any mistakes.

"So this time, it was carelessness on the part of the graphics artist. It was downloaded from the Internet. It was unintentional," he said.

As for the internal inquiry, Rajintheram said, "We don't think it was an act of sabotage, because that staff member has been with us for many years."

Caricatures of Prophet Muhammad

In a related development, a delegation from PAS Youth, headed by its chief Salahuddin Ayub visited the daily's office to show their support this afternoon.

Salahuddin, who is the MP for Kubang Kerian, promised to raise the suspension issue in Parliament tomorrow.

"It was a human error. The mistake was not intentional, such as the caricatures on Prophet Muhammad that were republished by Sarawak Tribune and New Straits Times ," he told reporters.

Early last year, the publishing licence of Guang Ming Daily was suspended for two weeks for publishing a photograph showing a placard depicting caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

Sarawak Tribune , which republished the caricatures, was indefinitely suspended while New Straits Times was let off the hook after publishing an apology.