MCA-owned The Star carried a very misleading headline today: "No" to quit letter, [followed by] "PM rejects Ling's offer to resign as Transport Minister".

I watched the TV3 Bahasa Malaysia news yesterday evening showing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad being surrounded by reporters and asking him on his decision relating to Ling's letter. Mahathir distinctly and clearly said: "saya belum bersetuju Ling letakkan jawatankuasa itu..." (if I did not misunderstand, it meant "I've yet to decide on Ling's resignation..."). This is different from saying he has rejected the resignation.

A rejection involves a "decision" and in this case, Mahathir has said that he has not decided. If he has not decided, it is morally wrong for The Star to twist and distort the remark to mean, "a rejection".

This is the most hideous act a newspaper owned by a political party can do. It is unprincipled and ethically wrong to skew the news in favour of its patronage. What about the high flying journalistic ideals that MCA (Team A) leaders expounded when they chose to acquire Nanyang when they talked about democratic ideals of press freedom, accurate reporting, etc.

In fact, I have the gut feeling that Mahathir will accept Ling's resignation soon. But with Ling (Team A) planning a big event this Sunday for the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman ground-breaking ceremony, which will also include paying a tribute to Mahathir, could be the reason for the PM to delay making his decision.

Moreover, if Mahathir accepts Ling's resignation now, the vacancy of party leader has to be filled. That is the big question mark in view of the power tussle between Team A and B.