Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian government on Tuesday denied launching a political crackdown after two opposition party newsletters were slapped with three-month suspensions.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Monday that Harakah of the hardline Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Voice of Justice of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party would be banned for three months for publishing news that was "defamatory."

"This action does not mean the government is curbing press freedom but to preserve peace and harmony in our multiracial society," Syed Hamid told the official Bernama news agency late Monday.

On Tuesday, Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung responded to criticism from opposition and rights groups by denying a pro-government agenda in the bans.

"This is nothing," Chor told reporters outside Parliament. "Why do you call it a crackdown? This is quite normal."

Chor said Harakah and Voice of Justice had failed to "fulfill the conditions of their permits despite repeated reminders."

The government was not more specific about the infractions and did not point to particular articles or give specific reasons for the ban, said Jonson Chong, deputy secretary general of the People's Justice Party.

Lim Kit Siang, veteran leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party, slammed the suspension as "unreasonable and undemocratic," saying it was part of a crackdown on the voice of dissent from opposition parties.

Rights groups also called for the government to rescind the ban, calling it a violation of freedom of expression. (dpa)