Barely a month after resuming its operations, fledgling newspaper Oriental Daily News appears to have run into another problem.

As of today it no longer has an opinion page. The page had five columns, o­ne editorial and a cartoon.

The columnists comprised mostly writers who had boycotted major Chinese dailies following MCA's acquisition of Nanyang Press Holdings in 2001.

The deal elicited strong criticism from various quarters who believed it was politically motivated. Nanyang publishes leading dailies Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press .

When contacted this afternoon, Yong Kai Ping, o­ne of the Oriental Daily columnists, claimed the change was due to pressure from the Home Ministry and rival newspapers.

"Compared with other major Chinese dailies, Oriental Daily is weaker in their news coverage but has a very strong team for their business desk and opinion page," he said.

Apart from the MCA-owned newspapers, the daily has to also compete with Sin Chew Daily and its sister publication Guang Ming Daily .

The two newspapers are owned by Sarawakian timber tycoon Tiong Hiew King, a close associate of MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Double standards

Yong, who is also the editor-in-chief of Chinese magazine Perspektif Pedas , said he was puzzled why the ministry exerted pressure o­nly o­n Oriental News Daily .

"We have faced pressure from the ministry since the very first time we wrote for Oriental Daily .

"Our readers also know that we write very carefully and do not criticise the government and its policies," he added.

Citing the recent Valuecap issue as an example, Yong said the opinion pieces in other dailies were far more critical than those that appeared o­n the new daily.

"It (the latest development) is unfair to our readers as they were expecting to read some alternative pieces in this new paper," he added.

Yong said this would be the right time for the ministry to reveal to the public how the media in this country are regulated.

Outside forces

Another columnist Tan Bee Piang complained that the platform for discussion and debate was shrinking.

" Oriental Daily 's opinion pieces so far were not critical. If the government cannot tolerate these few voices then it means that freedom of expression no longer exists in this country," she said when contacted.

Asked why the opinion page was removed, Tan replied: "I am not so sure who put pressure o­n Oriental Daily , but we know the pressure did not o­nly come from the ministry - there were outside forces," she added.

The former leader writer for Nanyang Siang Pau echoed Yong's concern that the latest development was unfair to the daily's readers.

"Every paper has its opinion so why can't Oriental Daily ?" asked Tan, who is currently a researcher with New Era College.

The daily's 50-odd columnists were informed about the removal of the opinion page by an editor yesterday.

'Adjustment'

Meanwhile, Oriental Daily News editor-in-chief Puah You Lai said the removal of the page was due to an "adjustment".

He refused to comment o­n whether the daily was forced to do so following pressure from the authorities.

The newspaper was first launched o­n Sept 29 but its operations were suspended by the ministry o­n the same evening.

No reason was given for the suspension but after nearly three months of negotiations, the paper hit the streets again o­n Jan 1.

In the absence of any official reason for the suspension, certain quarters claimed the daily fell victim to a political agenda.

Oriental Daily News is owned by another Sarawakian timber tycoon Lau Hui Kang, who also controls three other dailies - See Hua Daily , Utusan Borneo and Borneo Post .