Sarawak-based Chinese newspaper See Hua Daily News today squashed rumours that it had planned to expand its operations into Peninsular Malaysia.

According to the secretary of Henry Lau, chief executive officer of KTS Holdings - which owns See Hua - there was "no such plan".

Over the past two months, rumours were rife that See Hua had been planning to expand its operations to West Malaysia to exploit business opportunities made available by the takeover of Nanyang Press by MCA.

The takeover prompted concerned Chinese groups to boycott buying and advertising in the two dailies under the Nanyang Press stable - the Nanyang Siang Pau and the China Press .

The dailies' dilemma also affected their rival publication, the Sin Chew Jit Poh , which had also been accused by some Chinese leaders and activists for "plotting" with MCA politicians to take over Nanyang.

The suspected involvement of Sin Chew resulted in a boycott among its regular contributors and writers, and this in turn affected its sister paper, the Guang Ming Daily .

The sharp fall in the circulation of both Nanyang and China Press coupled with the loss of Sin Chew 's credibility, had raised the possibility of another daily, one which is not directly linked to any political party, to move in and capture a big share in the Chinese-language newspaper market.

Increase coverage

It had been speculated that See Hua 's 'expansion into the peninsular' project was headed by Kou Yok Liong, who is former Nanyang group executive director.

Kou, however, denied he had been approached by See Hua to head the expansion team.

"These are mainly rumours created by Sin Chew . Until today I have not taken up any new assignment," he said.

Kou, was one of the nine top managers sacked after MCA took over Nanyang, said that he saw little point in continuing in journalism because "everything is now under control".

"I am very disappointed," he said, referring to the controversial takeover by MCA.

Nevertheless, See Hua has been recruiting a number of journalists over the past few months to join its bureau in Kuala Lumpur.

However, a source close to the paper told malaysiakini that the new staff is to increase the paper's coverage of West Malaysia.

The source added that an expansion into the West Malaysian market would require 'a huge injection of funds'.

Since See Hua does not really understand the West Malaysian market, the source said it would be unlikely the Sarawak paper relocate its operations from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur.

"It is too risky, especially now," said the source, referring to the uncertain economic outlook in the country.