A special feature on the controversial acquisition of the Nanyang Press Holdings by MCA to be aired on Radio Television Malaysia early this month was axed at the eleventh hour due to political instructions.
Sources told malaysiakini that the Information Ministry received a phone call on the morning of May 31 from "an MCA top leader who expressed a wish for the feature to be dropped".
Subsequently, the 'wish' was relayed to the Mandarin section of the TV station and the feature, which was already in the final stage of editing, ended in the cutting floor.
The feature was produced in conjunction with the first anniversary of MCA's takeover of Nanyang Press which publishes two major Chinese dailies, Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press .
Its focus was the impact of the takeover on the local Chinese media, based on interviews with several observers including two former journalists with Nanyang Siang Pau .
On May 30, the second channel of RTM (TV2) announced in its 6.30pm Mandarin newscast that the station would air the feature in a three-part series starting June 1.
However, June 1 came and went with no sign of the feature nor an official explanation from the TV station.
Incidentally, the news programme on May 29 had reported the candlelight vigil held outside the MCA headquarters the night before to mark the first anniversary of the controversial takeover.
Strong objection
When MCA's investment arm Huaren Management acquired Nanyang Press in a RM230 million deal on May 28 last year, the move drew flak from by the Chinese community who feared that the editorial independence of the newspapers could be compromised.
As a result of the takeover, some 80 columnists of Nanyang Siang Pau and its sister daily China Press stopped contributing to the newspapers as a mark of protest. The takeover also worsened the already simmering tension in the MCA, resulting the party to split into two but Team B which opposed it said the deal had soured the relationship between the party and the Chinese community.
Over the past 12 months, there were revamps and reshuffles in both Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press which resulted in critical editorial sections being dropped and several senior editorial staff leaving the company due to 'political pressure'.
Disappointed
When contacted, one of the interviewees in the TV2 production, Ng Tien Eng, said he had heard about the axing of the feature and was disappointed with the political interference that caused it.
"The TV2 crew had worked very hard but just because of one directive, all their efforts have gone to waste.
"There was no announcement or apology regarding the cancellation of the feature. But how can TV2 even explain to its audience what had happened?" said Ng, who is the founder of Mandarin news portal thefreemedia.com .
Others interviewed for the feature were former Nanyang journalists Chou Z Lam and Wong Chin Huat; as well as former malaysiakini journalist Ng Boon Hooi.
It is learnt that the interviewees had talked about how the Nanyang takeover had jeopardised the freedom of expression in Chinese newspapers which are generally noted to be more vocal than dailies in other languages.
The interviewees also said the deal had widened the prospects of news websites as readers of traditional print media no longer rely on just a small number of sources for information.
Trading in Nanyang Press has been suspended at RM5.40 per share since Aug 20 last year as Huaren still holds a 92.14 percent stake in the newspaper company.
Huaren should have divested at least 25 percent of the Nanyang shares by Feb 20 as required by the KLSE. However, a four-month extension was sought and subsequently approved, deferring the deadline to June 22.
