Sacked New Straits Times Press Group editor-in-chief was the first to feel the 'steel' of newly-minted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today.

In an immediate reaction to the shock sacking of Umno-linked newspaper chief Abdullah Ahmad, the DAP leader said he could not help but point to the irony of the event.

Lim said that the sacking came only one day after Abdullah Ahmad, popularly known as Dollah Kok Lanas, wrote a prophetic column on the new prime minister entitled 'Nice, but there's steel, too'.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is into his 21st day as prime minister, is often referred to as Mr Nice Guy or Pak Lah.

Dollah was summarily sacked yesterday after a meeting of Umno management committee meeting which comprises top party leaders and chaired by Pak Lah.

A Mahathir appointee, Dollah said today that he had expected to receive his marching orders.

Umno exercises tight control over the country's oldest English newspaper through ownership by companies seen as proxy to the party.

"Malaysians are entitled to ask whether it is healthy for press freedom and Malaysian democracy that a major media group in the country should be in the clutches of the major ruling party in the country, which could exercise directly the powers of hire and fire of its editor-in-chief as well as interfere with its editorial policies and direction?" said Lim.

Third editor to fall

Dollah is the third News Straits Times' editor-in-chief to be sacked by Umno leaders.

In 1986, Munir Majid was fired in the aftermath of the break-up between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy Musa Hitam.

"Journalists can never forget that when Munir protested to Mahathir at the time about his sacking as he was '100 percent' loyal to him, Munir was told that '100 percent loyalty' was not enough as what was wanted was '110 percent loyalty'!" said Lim.

Another NST editor-in-chief, Abdul Kadir Jasin, was axed in 2000 after the Umno debacle in the 1999 general election in the wake of the controversial prosecution of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Lim warned that Dollah's sacking has put Pak Lah's call to the people to tell him the truth under a cloud.

"The new prime minister should be conscious of the contradiction between Umno's summary sacking of the NST editor-in-chief with his call to Barisan Nasional leaders and the people to tell him the truth and his statement that he does not want 'apple polishers'," said Lim.