KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - A LEADING Malaysian Muslim supermarket chain has called for a boycott of Dutch products in protest at an anti-Islamic film and tagged them with red labels to warn customers, reports said.

The Mydin chain also put up posters warning customers to 'stay away' from Dutch products, the New Straits Times daily said on Tuesday.

'We call on consumers, Muslims and non-Muslims, to collectively boycott Dutch products,' Mr Ameer Ali, managing director of Mydin Mohamed Holdings, was quoted as saying by state Bernama news agency.

'Nobody has the right to condemn other religions,' he said.

The chain however stopped short of pulling the products from supermarket shelves, reportedly to respect consumers' freedom of choice.

The 17-minute film Fitna by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders was released on the Internet last Thursday, triggering widespread condemnation.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called it 'offensively anti-Islamic'. Dutch ambassador to Malaysia Lody Embrechts also rejected the film's views on Islam, Bernama said.

'The film equates Islam with violence. The Dutch government rejects this interpretation,' he said.

Malaysian groups, including the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia and the conservative Islamic party PAS had urged Muslims worldwide to boycott Dutch products to protest against the film.

Dutch businesses had also threatened to sue Mr Wilders if his film led to a boycott.

Malaysia's influential former premier Mahathir Mohamad has said that if the world's 1.3 billion Muslims boycotted Dutch products, the country's industries would be forced to shut down.

Malaysia is a multi-racial country with a majority Muslim population. -- AFP