Jim Carrey plays God for a day in Bruce Almighty

Authorities are concerned the film, in which Carrey gets to play God for a day, is offensive to Muslims and are considering banning the film.

The film was due to be released on Thursday but the Film Censorship Board is now rethinking its earlier decision to approve it.

"We have not decided whether to ban it, but we have instructed distributors not to show it until a decision is made," said board secretary Lukeman Said.

In Bruce Almighty, Carrey is challenged by God to take over the running of the world to see if he can do a better job of it.

Earlier government minister Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin called for a ban because the theme was "not appropriate".

Negative elements

"We cannot equate ourselves with God almighty even as a joke," he said.

The predominantly Muslim country has a history of outlawing American films, or censoring scenes on moral or religious grounds.

The award-winning film The Hours saw several scenes cut that depicted kissing between two women to protect the "interests of the country and people from bad influences and negative elements shown in films".

And the big screen adaptation of the comic book hero Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck, was also outlawed because of "excessive violence".

The cartoon Prince of Egypt, an animated epic about the life of Moses, was deemed "insensitive for religious reasons", while Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me featured too much sexual innuendo for Malaysian censors.