Malaysia's Muslim-led government has banned a Tamil-language newspaper for one month for printing a caricature of Jesus holding a cigarette and a can of beer.

According to the Internal Security Ministry, the publishing permit of the daily, Makkal Osai Tamil, will be suspended for a month starting Friday.

Malaysia's prime minister, a devout Muslim, has also banned two papers that published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad last year. He condemned the publication of the Jesus caricature as “unacceptable in a multi-racial society,” according to Reuters.

The paper printed the caricature on its front page last Tuesday, with a caption quoting Jesus as saying, “If someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits them.”

The editor of the paper apologized later, and said the caricature was taken from the Internet, and was only used to illustrate the quote. However, a local politician filed a police report, claiming a “threat to national harmony” had been made.

Muslims, most of whom are Malays, accounts for over half of Malaysia's 26 million population. The country's non-Muslim minority is mostly made up of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians.

Malaysia has tried to maintain peaceful relations between its various races and religions since riots in 1969, in which hundreds were killed.