Malaysia on Monday defended its deportation of a Saudi journalist wanted at home for comments deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed, saying it was not a "safe haven" for fugitives.

"Do not look at Malaysia as a safe transit country or a safe haven for those who are wanted by their country of origin," Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference.

Malaysia on Sunday deported a young Saudi journalist who is wanted in his home country over a Twitter post about the Prophet Mohammed that sparked calls for his execution, an official said.

Hamza Kashgari, who was detained in Malaysia during the week after fleeing Saudi Arabia, left the country in the custody of Saudi officials, a Malaysian government official told Agence France Presse.

Rights groups Saturday urged Malaysia not to deport a young Saudi journalist whose Twitter comments about the Prophet Mohammed triggered calls for execution in his home country.

Hamza Kashgari was arrested after arriving at Kuala Lumpur international airport on Thursday and a police spokesman said was still being quizzed.

Malaysian police Friday said they had detained a young Saudi journalist who fled his country after Twitter comments he made about the Prophet Mohammed triggered calls for his execution.

Hamza Kashgari was taken into custody after flying into Malaysia's main international airport on Thursday, police spokesman Ramli Yoosuf told Agence France Presse.

A Malaysian group representing villagers and civil groups will file a legal challenge to the government's decision to approve a $230 million rare earths plant by Australian miner Lynas Corp., a lawmaker said Thursday.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board announced late Wednesday it would grant Lynas a license to operate the first rare earths plant outside China in years, despite public protests over fears of radioactive pollution.

Eight men have drowned and five others are missing after a boat loaded with 25 people believed to be from Afghanistan and Iraq overturned off southern Malaysia, police said Wednesday.

Police found the bodies of eight men on a beach in southern Johor state early Wednesday, said Che Mahazan Che Aik, a district police chief, while 12 others managed to swim to shore after their boat overturned.

As their wooden boat nears the river's edge, hunters from Malaysia's Kayan tribe reach for machetes and spears while their dogs leap out and splash up the banks on the scent of a deer.

As the dogs and hunters dart into the thick jungles of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, 50-year-old Ngajang Midin points to the fresh footprint of a deer in the mud at his feet.

Expanding palm-oil plantations in Malaysian Borneo are rapidly eating into the habitat of the rare proboscis monkey and causing its numbers to decline sharply, officials warned Wednesday.

The reddish-brown primate, which is named for its distinctive large and fleshy nose, is found only on Borneo, a large island divided up between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said Friday it would build a new solar cell factory in Malaysia, as it looks abroad to cut production costs caused by the surging yen.

The company said it would spend 45 billion yen ($582 million) on the new factory making cells -- a key component of solar panels -- capable of generating 300 megawatts of power.

A Buddhist temple on Malaysia's island resort of Penang has held a religious ritual in which mourners bit an apple to hasten Apple visionary Steve Jobs' reincarnation, a report said Tuesday.

Jobs, who was known for his Buddhist leanings, died on October 5 aged 56 after a lengthy battle with cancer, triggering worldwide mourning for the man who was the driving force behind the iPod, iPhone and other tech advancements.