Two major Chinese newspapers - Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh - have refused to publish an advertisement highlighting the plight of pig farmers affected by the deadly 1999 Nipah virus outbreak.

According to PC Lai, spokesperson for the Nipah Virus Disaster and Rescue Committee, the two Chinese dailies have demanded a number of changes to the organisation's proposed advertisement before it can be published.

Lai told malaysiakini that while the committee was willing to make the required changes, it was unwilling to accede to one specific alteration.

The original advertisement states that the pig farmers were only compensated RM120 per pig for the first 2,000 pigs culled and RM85 for the subsequent pigs, although they had asked for RM200 for each pig from the government.

However, the newspapers wanted this to be replaced by a general statement that the farmers received a lower compensation than what they had originally demanded.

Lai, who is the committee's vice-president, said that his organisation cannot give in to this alteration.

"We need to highlight the figures," Lai stressed.

He explained that the statement on the figures was important because it would show how inadequately the government had compensated the farmers.

According to the Malaysian Livestock Farmers Association, the cost of rearing a pig up to 80kg would amount to around RM348.20.

Real story

The advertisement entitled 'No end to the sorrows of the pig farmers who are devastated by the Nipah viral infection episode' was to inform the public about the financial hardship endured by the farmers.

"We want the advertisement to tell the real story," Lai said.

He also said that the committee had agreed to remove the names of the ministers who had promised that all the money from the government's JE Trust Fund would be distributed to the affected farmers.

It was reported that Agriculture Minister Effendi Norwawi and Health Minister Chua Jui Meng made the promise to the affected farmers in Bukit Pelanduk during the Teluk Kemang by-election campaign last year.

However, the government recently announced that it decided to use the remaining RM17.92 million in the fund to combat future outbreaks.

'Ads not totally rejected'

When contacted by malaysiakini , an advertising agent who liaised with both Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh on the controversy conceded that the newspapers could not publish the advertisement in its original form.

However, the source, who declined to be named, stressed that the newspapers did not totally reject the advertisement.

"They (the farmers) insisted on putting the figures of the compensation although the newspapers thought that the statement can be generally expressed as 'the compensation by the government was lower than the amount demanded by the farmers'," he said.

However, he said he was merely acting as the middle person between the farmers and the newspapers and that he did not have the power to make decisions.

The management of Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh could not be reached for their comment.

Government's guidelines

Meanwhile, another newspaper, English daily The Sun , is mulling over whether to take the same advertisement from the farmers.

According to The Sun 's sales representative Simon Goh, it is the discretion of a newspaper to accept or reject an advertisement as they are bound by certain government guidelines.

One such guideline is that advertisements depicting women in skimpy outfits are banned, explained Goh.

"The guidelines, however, are not clear," he said.

Goh also said he needed the approval of the newspaper's top management because the advertisement appears to question government action.

Lai was informed by The Sun today that he was required to write a letter to the management.

The Nipah virus outbreak killed 100 people and affected the health of 200 others.

The outbreak not only jeopardised the health of Bukit Pelanduk residents, but crippled the entire pig-farming industry in Negeri Sembilan, said to be the biggest and most lucrative in Southeast Asia.

Most of the pig farmers then, who were in their 40s, lost their livelihood when the industry collapsed.