A Chinese-language daily newspaper, the China Press, has been issued a show-cause letter and two warning letters by the Home Affairs Ministry in the last three weeks for reporting on controversial issues, specifically the Vision School and a long dormant education fund.

Another Chinese-language daily newspaper, the Nanyang Siang Pau, has received an oral warning from an official in the Home Affairs Ministry's Publications Control Unit, sources told malaysiakini today.

The two Chinese-language newspapers have been taken to task for their reports on the Vision School, a project which has met with strong opposition from the Chinese community and educationists, as well as their news reports on the delay in implementing the RM10 million Chang Min Thien Foundation (CMTF) education fund set up in 1980.

The sources said these two issues, which have hogged media limelight for the past few weeks, have put the MCA, a key component of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, in an embarrassing position.

In the case of Nanyang, a telephone call from the secretary of Deputy Home Affairs Minister Chor Chee Heung, was received advising it not to highlight the CMTF fund.

Chor is a MCA Central Committee member and his party has received a lot of criticism for the 20-year dormancy of the CMTF fund.

Suqiu and Sungai Besi cemetery also issues

Another two issues - the Suqiu episode in Prime Minister's Merdeka Day speech and the Sungai Besi Cemetery relocation project going back several months - were also cited as grounds of complaints in the oral warning by the Publishing Control Unit to Nanyang.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad started a controversy when he likened Suqiu (Malaysian Chinese Organisations Election Appeals Committee) to the communists of the past and the extremist Al-Ma'unah religious cult (PM likens Suqiu to communists, Aug 30).

One of the official letters to the China Press, purportedly signed by Publishing Control Unit head, Tengku Mahmood Tengku Ismail, had accused the contents of the China Press of instigating the people to hate the government and damaging a particular political party which is deemed similar to damaging the BN government, a source told malaysiakini.

"With the coming of the Lunas by-election, the control of the paper is going to be more strict," the source added.

Another source confirmed that the Nanyang Siang Pau was currently being monitored closely by the ministry now.

"Not logical for paper to stop"

On the warning to Nanyang not to highlight the Vision School and Chang Min Thien Foundation fund issues, the source said: "There is no logical reason for the paper to stop running stories on the CMTF education fund.

"This is not a racial or sensitive issue and not related to the security of the country," the source said.

Malaysiakini has tried for two days to contact Tengku Mahmood, but he remained unavailable for comment.

A show-cause letter would require the recipient newspaper to give an explanation of the complaints made by the Home Ministry and consequent actions that can follow could be a suspension or total ban of the daily.

The actions are provided for under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 which among others, requires newspapers to apply for an annual licence which can be withdrawn with no need for any grounds to be stated.

In 1987's Operasi Lallang, Nanyang's rival paper, Sin Chew Jit Poh was closed down for six months, along with The Star and Watan, a bi-weekly Malay-language tabloid, during an offensive against the Opposition when more than 100 activists and politicians were detained under the Internal Security Act.

Since then, mainstream newspapers have become more docile.

Latest statistics show that the China Press has a circulation of 204,225, while the Nanyang has a circulation of 177,824.