A US journalists' group urged Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to end a "campaign of intimidation and harassment" against Harakah, the paper of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) which has made strong gains against the ruling party.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, in a letter to Mahathir, called on him to restore Harakah's licence to publish twice weekly and to drop sedition charges against its editor and publisher.

The New York-based group, in the letter released late Thursday, said the curbs on Harakah's circulation "appears to be the latest example of your administration's efforts to curb the opposition press in Malaysia."

The Home (interior) Ministry, which licenses all newspapers, Wednesday renewed Harakah's publication licence only for two issues a month instead of two a week previously.

Local rights group Aliran said the move smacked of "political vindictiveness" and called it a "terrible blow to the freedom of the press."

It said in a statement the government had finally conceded defeat -- "that it is no match to counter opposition criticism."

The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres protested against what it called threats by the government against Harakah and urged authorities to liberalise the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

Since last November's election, it said, at least five publications had been threatened with the withdrawal of their licences.

The move was the latest in a series against Harakah since the elections when PAS more than tripled its parliamentary seats to 27.

The home ministry in January curbed its street sales and confiscated copies, saying the paper was breaching its licence by selling to non-party members.

The editor Zulkifli Sulong and the paper's printer are facing a sedition charge over an article about the trial of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Sedition is punishable by up to three years' jail.

Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung Thursday was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying Harakah's new permit could be suspended or revoked if its Internet version is published more than twice a month.

Mahathir, who is promoting a "Multimedia Super Corridor" south of Kuala Lumpur and says IT is the key to national development, has promised not to censor the Internet.

Bernama later asked subscribers not to use the report "at the request of the Prime Minister's Department". On Friday it quoted Chor as denying he had ever threatened any curbs on the Internet edition.

The government's policy was not to censor publications and materials on the Internet "and this policy remains steadfastly in place," Chor said.

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said Chor "had made a fool of the government" by reportedly threatening the Internet version - harakahdaily.com.

In a statement he urged Mahathir to renounce all attempts to censor the Internet "so as not to seriously jeopardise the Multimedia Super Corridor and national IT policy."

About 100 supporters of PAS and allied parties staged a protest at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur Friday, unveiling a banner reading "God Save Harakah."

In Mahathir's northern home state of Kedah about 500 supporters staged a demonstration, Bernama reported. Local police chief Hussain Bapoo said the protest was illegal and action would be taken against organisers.

The mainstream press is solidly pro-government and in some cases is owned by businesses linked to the ruling party.

Harakah's current sales are around 277,000 for each issue, according to its management. Its circulation touched 377,000 just before the election, comparable to or higher than mainstream newspapers.