The Malaysian authorities announced Thursday to issue a new permit to an Islamic opposition party newspaper. The fate of other two anti-government publications, however, is still in suspense, The Canadian Press reported.

The government refused to renew licenses for these papers, accusing them of violating laws and publishing false information. However, opposition leaders retorted that it was a crackdown on free speech, AFP reported.

The Home Ministry Thursday renewed the license of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party's newspaper, the "Harakah" daily, after it promised to obey government guidelines.

Officials of the paper confirmed it has received a new permit after the old one expired one week ago, but only under strict rules, AFP reported.

The home ministry had ordered the title to be sold only at party headquarters and read only by party members, which total one million nationwide, according to Editor-in-chief Ahmad Lutfi Othman.

All publications in Malaysia require permits, which need to be extended annually, The Canadian Press reported.

Ahmad criticised the sales rules, stating that many of its members live in rural areas, which is far away from the headquarters, AFP reported.

"The Malaysian government's attempt to muzzle the main opposition party's newspaper is a double assault on political freedom and free speech," Lance Lattig, human rights group Amnesty International's researcher for Malaysia, said.