Malaysia makes it illegal to own controversial cartoons

Muslim-majority Malaysia has ordered a nationwide ban on owning or distributing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have outraged the Islamic world, saying they could trigger public tensions.

The Internal Security Ministry, headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said late yesterday that it was an offence for anyone to publish, produce, import, circulate or possess the caricatures.

The measure was in line with curbing the circulation of material that could cause uneasiness among Malaysians and disrupt public order, the ministry said.