The New Straits Times today said it will stand by a news report in the daily which the National Union of Journalists had contended was erroneous.

When contacted, news editor KP Waran said the company decided not to reply to NUJ's letter of protest after speaking to the reporter concerned.

The letter on Monday, addressed to NST group editor-in-chief Abdullah Ahmad, demanded for a correction of the report it published on Jan 2 titled 'Dr M refuses to be dragged into The Sun's internal problems'.

The report said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had ticked off a journalist from The Sun, Claudia Theophilus, and according to NUJ it insinuated an ulterior motive on Theophilus' part.

NUJ claimed the report had cast a negative image on Theophilus and put her under tremendous pressure.

Theophilus' name with her alleged questions to Mahathir were published in the news, a move which NUJ described as "totally uncalled for and unethical".

The union body also accused NST of concocting a paragraph in which Theophilus was reported to have said that it was of the impression of The Sun's management that there was pressure from the government on them.

NUJ said Theophilus had asked Mahathir to comment on the said perception of "readers and others" and not of the daily's management as reported.

Mahathir's subsequent reply in the report: "Their impression... I don't care about their impression. They have never had any good thing to say about the government. I don't care about their opinion..." was therefore said to have been taken out of context.

Waiting for official reply

Meanwhile, NUJ general secretary Hong Boon How said they will wait for an official reply in writing from NST on the matter.

He said should NST not reply to their letter by early next week, a second letter will be issued, requesting for an explanation on the absence of a proper reply.

Asked what the union would do if NST ignored the second letter, Hong said, "We would be very disappointed then and will call for a meeting to decide on the next course of action."

The Sun was eclipsed by controversy following its Christmas day front-page report which alleged that there was a plot to kill Mahathir and his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The report was picked up by news agencies and circulated worldwide. This irked the premier who then lambasted The Sun for practising 'sensationalist' reporting.

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

Journalists from the daily have since gone on pickets against the company's delay of a one-month bonus which was due to be paid by end-December and for the reinstatement of their suspended colleagues.

The company also owes its staff another month's bonus which is supposed to be paid in instalments over three months starting February.

Following a Monday meeting between the NUJ and company executive director Frankie Tay Thiam Siew, the pickets have been put on hold pending the final decision by the management on the bonus payment next Tuesday.