If the hammer can come crashing down on a MCA-owned publication, what is the fate in store for the unconnected rest?

This bleak question was raised by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng this afternoon.

He was speaking to reporters after the submission of a memorandum to the Internal Security Ministry in Putrajaya over the resignation of two top editors from China Press .

MCA - via its investment arm Huaren Holdings - owns the publishing company of China Press and sister publication Nanyang Siang Pau .

"I am fearful for other newspapers and websites which are not seen as pro-government, they are in a worst off situation," he told reporters.

On the same note, Lim also expressed puzzlement over the continued silence of MCA regarding the issue.

"We know Nanyang ( Siang Pau ) and China Press are controlled by MCA. Why is DAP, a die-hard enemy of MCA speaking up for these newspapers?" he asked.

This morning, MCA president Ong Ka Ting held a two-hour meeting with the editors of China Press at the daily's office in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

When approached later, he declined to comment on the matter beyond saying that he had ' stopped over' for a visit.

Blatant threat

Yesterday, China Press announced that its editor-in-chief Chong Choong Nam and executive editor-in-chief Wang Zhao Ping would accept full responsibility and resign with immediate effect over an error in a report regarding the controversial ear-squat video clip .

In its Nov 23 evening edition, the daily had reported that the woman in the clip was a Chinese national but this was later proved to be untrue.

Earlier, DAP parliamentarians Teresa Kok, Tan Kok Wai and Fong Kui Lun submitted the memorandum to Prime Minister and Internal Security Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's private secretary, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.

When met after their 30-minute long meeting, Tan said Wan Ahmad had promised to pass the memorandum to the premier.

"He told us that China Press had committed a major error so the ministry feels that the action is appropriate," he added.

Meanwhile, Lim in his memorandum, said that since the mistake was not malicious, an open apology from the daily would have been sufficient.

According to him, the action was aimed at instilling fear in China Press and other newspapers to ensure that their toe the line.

"Why was (deputy internal security minister) Noh Omar allowed to apologise but not told to resign when he asked all foreigners to return?" he asked, adding that this illustrated the government's double standards.

Despite numerous attempts, malaysiakini could not obtain comments from Wan Ahmad or the ministry's secretary-general Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

Selective punishment

In a related development, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said to zero in on China Press editors "was clearly unfair" and tantamount to "selective punishment".

He said although the newspaper admitted and apologised for the error, it does not bode well for press freedom that other parties, individuals and news organisations that had committed a similar error or worse escaped scot-free.

"Other newspapers also made the same mistake including Utusan Malaysia which carried the screaming headline ' Rakam video wanita rakyat China bogel hangatkan Parlimen ' (Video recording of naked female Chinese national rocks Parliament)," he noted.

He also described the incident as a shameful reflection of the authority and influence of MCA ministers in the government.

"MCA-owned China Press is punished but Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia is spared for the very same mistake," he said