Malay daily says sorry for 'distasteful' tsunami cartoon

The Malay daily, Berita Harian, has issued a public apology over its publication of a cartoon depicting the devastating tsunami and earthquake that swept Japan and killed thousands.

It published the apology on its website, Twitter and Facebook accounts yesterday after several quarters demanded that the newspaper apologise for the publication, The Star reports.

"We apologise for the publication of the cartoon in Berita Minggu. We had no intention of poking fun at the disaster that has befallen the nation of Japan and its people. In fact, we greatly sympathise with their plight and share the sorrow of the Japanese people," the daily’s editor wrote.

The cartoon, drawn by Mohammed Zohri Sukimi or more popularly known as Zoy, showed the popular Japanese icon Ultraman running away from an oncoming tsunami.

The publication created a buzz on social networking sites with politicians and the public criticising the daily's poor judgment, describing the cartoon as "distasteful" and "insensitive".