Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin said he has stopped writing for Malay-daily Utusan Malaysia and will be penning his thoughts in more "independent" media upon his return from Mekkah.

NONE In a statement sent to Malaysiakini by mobile text from Saudi Arabia, the outspoken religious scholar ( right ) said he has ceased contributing to the Utusan 's Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia .

The Penang-born scholar did not say, however, which forum his articles would appear.

"I invite my readers to continue reading my articles in the new forums, about which I will announce later," he wrote in the sms.

Malaysian Insider , meanwhile, reported that Asri's column has been replaced by the "ultra-conservative" Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria.

A March 11 editorial in the Mingguan 's 'Rencana' column may have indicated this was to happen.

Referring to the attempts by Harussani to goad Perak PAS state assembly members to agree to a 'unity' government in the state with Umno, the editorial asked who - if not a mufti - was the ideal figure to bring this about.

"If a mufti is seen as an agent of the government, is that so wrong?" asked the editorial.

shahidan kassim 02 Malaysiakini last week reported that Mingguan Malaysia had spiked Asri's last article, a move that triggered a sharp retort from former Perlis Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim ( left ).

The article, entitled ` Ulama dimuliakan atau disucikan? ' ('The ulama: revered or sanctified?') was said to have discussed how to address the views of religious scholars.

Shahidan, known to be an avid follower of Asri, claimed Mingguan Malaysia had acted out of fear of the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim).

"There was no article by Dr Asri today in Mingguan Malaysia . I believe brother Zin (believed to be an editor in the publication) spiked (Asri) because he is scared of Jakim," said Shahidan in a Facebook posting.

"I would like Utusan ( Malaysia ) to know: if Jakim wrote (articles) in Utusan , I would not buy your paper. I have bought many editions of Mingguan ( Malaysia ) because of the writings of Dr Asri and (university lecturer and preacher) Ridzuan Tee (Abdullah) and others.

"What kind of press freedom does your paper practice?” asked Shahidan.