opinion The widely perceived summary sacking at The Sun sends a clear signal to Malaysian journalists of the kind of price they will have to pay in pursuit of the truth, and when they step on the toes of their employers with vested business interests and links to the powers-that-be.

The sad part is that after the authorities showed their wrath over the daily's report on the alleged assassination plot against the prime minister and his deputy, the owners failed to come to the defence of their editorial team.

Instead, pressure was applied on some of the top editorial people to get out, the idea being that if the thorns are removed, the powers-that-be would be satisfied.

This is typical of the country's media owners - they disown responsibility the moment their editors anger the prime minister or some powerful politician or corporate leader. To many, the truth has to be subservient to their own individual and personal interests, particularly when the angry party is someone powerful.

This is all very sad because it shows where the media could be heading - we might as well do not own newspapers.

Under pressure

Even the many so-called columnists with strings of degrees to their names from prestigious universities tend to touch local and national issues with a 10-foot pole, preferring to comment on regional or global issues which most newspaper readers, or most Malaysians, understandably care less about.

At any rate, most of what is going on around the world is already known to them through foreign news agency reports, foreign radio stations and satellite TV stations.

There are of course exceptions among the local columnists, and these are the ones whose views and commentaries probe right into the heart of many matters that concern the everyday life of our people.

Unfortunately, they are sometimes placed under pressure to tone down their opinions, and because they would not compromise on the truth, they choose not to write at all.

Some of this country's best columnists who have the courage and tenacity to provide an alternative insight into views on issues of common interest have stopped writing. This pleases some people in authority but is a great loss to all thinking and fair-minded Malaysians.

Daring daily

The Sun was gaining popularity throughout the country. Although only less than 10 years old, its circulation was already touching 80,000. And this was an achievement considering that there are two other major newspapers - the MCA-controlled Star and the Umno-controlled New Straits Times.

It was a paper that dared to be different, but because of this courage, The Sun often found itself on the wrong end of the stick.

The National Union of Journalists, and in fact all writers in this country, bemoan the massive retrenchment within initiated by The Sun's management.

Where is the human resources minister when he is needed most to ensure that media workers, especially journalists, are not shabbily treated when their services are no longer required by the company?

The journalists who have been axed have, through their writings, done invaluable services to their organisation and to the society at large.

Why has there been no spirited defence for this group of journalists who are clearly not only victims of 'difficult economic circumstances' but also an internal witch-hunt seen as nothing more than a punitive measure for displeasing some politicians.

Whither is Malaysian journalism going after The Sun episode?