Defending a counterpart proved costly for fledgling Chinese newspaper Oriental Daily , which has been slapped with a warning letter from the Internal Security Ministry.

It is learnt that the letter was issued over a column that criticised the action taken against the three-year-old daily's competitor, China Press .

China Press ran into trouble with the government over the recent ear-squats controversy, which erupted following the exposure of a video-clip showing a woman police detainee being forced to do the squats in the nude.

The daily was the first to break the news in its Nov 23 evening edition and had erroneously identified the victim as a Chinese national. But it was later discovered that the woman was a Malay Malaysian.

On Dec 19, China Press , which is owned by MCA, received a show-cause letter from the ministry. Later, it also carried a front-page apology for the mistake.

However, the powers-that-be appeared adamant on seeing heads roll.

On Jan 5, its editor-in-chief Chong Choong Nam and executive editor-in-chief Wang Zhao Ping were pressured to resign amid much protest from those who saw this as an attempt by the government to stifle media freedom.

Calling for a strike?

Five days later, Oriental Daily published an article by columnist Ng Choon Soon titled 'How China Press apologised?'

Apart from calling the punishment 'obviously too harsh', Ng, who is the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Wing deputy secretary, also touched on the political pressure behind the move.

He also compared the fate that befell China Press to that of a vocal newspaper in China, Xin Jing Bao ( New Beijing Daily ), where one-third of its 300 staff protested against the sudden removal of three editors.

The Chinese government finally relented and only the editor-in-chief was axed.

It is learnt that Ng's article had ruffled feathers because it was seen as instigating China Press staff to take similar action.

Oriental Daily editor-in-chief Puah You Lai and Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye could not be reached for comment.

Taming the brave

In a related development, Chinese newspaper editors claim that the action taken against China Press created a 'chilling effect' and could see these dailies tamed further.

Traditionally, Chinese dailies in Malaysia were noted for their bold reporting but several 'sensitive' issues over the years, such as the language switch and the demolition of Chinese schools, had prompted the authorities to reign them in.

"Now, Chinese dailies dare not report anything 'spicy' without getting the official version. We used to be the first to break the news but now we are reduced to doing follow-up reports on articles that appear in English and Malay dailies.

"This is because our hands have been tied," lamented an editor, who declined to be named.

Who called the shots?

Another burning question is who was behind the decision to drop the guillotine on the two editors?

"Was it Pak Lah (Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also internal security minister)? Why is the internal security minister not saying anything?

"Why is Deputy Prime Minsiter Najib (Abdul Razak) commenting on the issue when he is not in charge and why are MCA leaders refusing to break their silence?"

It was also speculated that there were negotiations between MCA, in its capacity as the owner of China Press , and the prime minister. However, what transpired at this meeting remains unknown.

Meanwhile, the editor also noted that the China Press incident warranted the setting-up of a media council to monitor news reports, act as an arbitrator and keep political interference at bay.

However, he stressed that in order to be credible, the council must be independent.

The media in Malaysia is kept in check by numerous laws, including the Printing Presses and Publications Act, requiring the annual renewal of licenses and so forth.