The chief executive officer and executive director of Star Publications (M) Bhd, Ho Kay Tat, has resigned as of today and is expected to return to his old stomping ground, The Edge Publications.

ho kay tat The deputy executive chairperson of Star Publications, Vincent Lee, confirmed Ho’s ( right ) resignation in a telephone interview with Malaysiakini this evening.

It is learnt that The Edge has obtained a licence to operate a daily newspaper and Ho is expected to head it.

Preparations for the introduction of the daily are in progress with the introduction of its news website about three weeks ago.

Lee said Ho had been talking of leaving the company for the past four months and “it is with a heavy heart the board is releasing him. He is a dear friend and we will miss his enormous contribution to The Star .

“It was a very difficult moment for all of us and we can understand that he is leaving to head The Edge again.”

Wong Chun Wai to take over?

The current group chief editor of The Star, Wong Chun Wai, is expected to take over Ho’s position.

According to sources, the move comes as a blow to The Star, which is majority-owned by Huaren, an investment arm of the MCA. MCA, a key member of the ruling BN coalition, is facing an uphill task to regain lost support in the coming general election.

Ho will be joining The Edge at a rank above current editor-in-chief Leslie Lopez.

Ho was with The Edge for nearly 15 years, rising to become editor-in-chief before leaving in 2010 to join The Star as chief operating officer and executive director.

While at The Edge , he helped build it into Malaysia's leading business publication and played a key role in turning around the news daily, The Sun , by making it a free daily.

Several reporters from The Edge have tendered their resignations to join new business titles in the market, such as Focus Malaysia and KiniBiz .