Paper suspended for Christ smoking cartoon

The Malaysian government has shut down a newspaper for a month after it printed a cartoon of Jesus Christ clutching a beer can and smoking a cigarette.

The paper,Makkai Osai,claimed that publication was a mistake and that it did not notice that the figure was smoking.

The suspension has brought outcry from people who claim free speech is under attack,opposition politician Lim Kit Siang saying:

"The suspension will only create a very chilling effect on free expression and is not conducive to creating a vibrant media space"

And is being seen in some quarters as a knee jerk reaction by the government