There’s just too much news coming out of this cartoon firestorm. While it was almost certain that a mere call-up wouldn’t be enough of a punishment for Sarawak Tribune, few would have expected the latest developments in Malaysia:

1. Sarawak Tribune Suspended - The Ministry of Internal Security has taken action, and it comes in the form of a suspension for the offending newspaper. As expected, a single resignation wasn’t enough, with the Deputy Information Minister stating that the suspension:
   

   …should serve as a warning to newspapers to be responsible in practising press freedom…

   More specifically, it seems that “…the Cabinet was concerned with a trend by certain media and political parties which sought popularity through sensitive issues.”

   But this suspension is probably a minor response if compared to the blanket ban:

2. Malaysia Slaps Blanket Ban on Prophet Caricatures - I don’t think you would want me to paraphrase the fact that it is now illegal to “…publish, import, produce, manufacture, circulate, distribute or possess caricatures that may “jeopardise public harmony and safety, which may cause chaos, or endanger public peace or national interest.” Well, I’m not sure what other caricatures can “jeopardise public harmony and safety”, but I have to agree that publishing these Prophet Mohammed caricatures was a foolish move - given the time (tension-filled world) and place (Muslim-majority country).

   And now, let us end with a possible explanation for the firestorm:

3. No Historical Precedent To Muslim Fury - There’s an interesting piece over at Malaysia Sun on how there is supposedly no historical precedent for the furore that has erupted due to Prophet Mohammed’s caricatures since “…depictions of Mohammed are in the collections of such institutions as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris and the Edinburgh University library.” But more interesting is the possible reason provided for the uproar: “…tensions that were already there between the Islamic world and the West.”