exclusive The Sun's brassy coverage of the MCA factional crisis since the controversial takeover of two major Chinese-language dailies Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press have incurred the wrath of the party's embattled Team A.

Malaysiakini learnt that Team A, led by MCA president and Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik, was so dismayed with The Sun's coverage that at least five meetings were held with the daily's top editors to discuss the matter.

According to a high-ranking party source, MCA vice-president Dr Fong Chan Onn was the key party leader in demanding the meetings with the daily's editors.

Fong, who is minister of human resources, headed the MCA delegation at the meetings, which involved other top party leaders. However, Ling did not attend any of the meetings.

At the meetings, the MCA leaders complained to the editors about the extensive coverage given to their rivals.

The first meeting was called soon after party deputy leader Lim Ah Lek, who heads rival Team B, was featured on the newspaper's front-page in October last year.

In The Sun's Oct 14 edition, the daily published a report under the headline "Lim accuses Ling of failing to keep his word", in which Lim lambasted the MCA president for repeatedly breaking his promises.

"He (Ling) has small ears and a big mouth," Lim was quoted as saying by The Sun. "Ling keeps shifting his position and uses the majority in the (party's) presidential council to act at his whims and fancies."

Lim was at that time incensed by Ling's decision to appoint Team A member Chor Chee Heung as co-ordinator of a committee to look into the fracas at the MCA Youth wing's Aug 3 annual general meeting.

Letter to owner

Another source informed malaysiakini that before these meetings, The Sun's top management had received numerous phone calls from MCA's Team A leaders complaining about its reports.

This resulted in the daily's executive director and editor-in-chief H'ng Hung Yong sending a letter to The Sun's chairperson and owner, business tycoon Vincent Tan, in early October to clarify the newspaper's editorial stand.

It is believed that in the letter, H'ng explained that The Sun had always been careful of reporting events factually and accurately.

The source said H'ng lamented that certain MCA's Team A stalwarts and officials were unwilling to talk to The Sun's reporters and were instead more friendly to The Star, which is owned by the Chinese political party.

"At times, The Sun held back reports from Team B until an equivalent report was obtained from Team A," said the source, adding that Ling had spurned the paper's request for an interview.

Assassination plot

The Sun is currently embroiled in a controversy involving a Christmas day front-page report which alleged that there was a plot to kill Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Though Mahathir brushed it off at first, he later criticised the newspaper for practising 'sensationalist' reporting after the report was picked up by foreign press and published worldwide.

Following that, the daily ran a front-page apology, saying that its story was 'baseless', and suspended two senior editors, a journalist and a photographer.

H'ng and the newspaper's editor Andy Ng - who defended the report - subsequently resigned from their posts.

Journalists from the daily have gone on pickets for the reinstatement of two suspended journalists and to protest the company's delay of a one-month bonus which was due to be paid by the end of last December. Another month's bonus was to be paid in three instalments commencing February.

However, the pickets have been put on hold pending a meeting with the management.