Dispute rages as Malaysian Chinese party buys papers
Dispute rages as Malaysian Chinese party buys papers
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): A controversial takeover of two newspapers by Malaysia's main Chinese political party was completed on Thursday while opponents appealed to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to block the deal.
Some 245 Chinese associations petitioned Mahathir to stop the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a member of his ruling coalition, from taking over two Chinese language dailies.
"For the sake of the nation, we think the Chinese media should be free from political party control," Ngan Ching Wen, organizing chairman of the protest committee, said in an open letter delivered to Mahathir's office.
But Hume Industries, parent of Nanyang Press Holdings, which publishes the newspapers, confirmed on Thursday that the sale has been completed.
Huaren Management Sdn Bhd, the investment arm of MCA, bought the 72.35 percent stake in the newspaper publisher for 230.12 million ringgit ($60.55 million) in cash.
Under the deal, Huaren also offered to buy up the remaining 27.65 percent stake at 5.50 ringgit per share. Nanyang shares ended at 5.90 ringgit on Thursday.
The takeover, proposed by the MCA last week, has been slammed by critics who say it smacked of government attempts to control the media.
"We do not think the MCA, which already controls the Star, the largest English daily, should own additional newspapers," Ngan said.
Senior MCA members have also voiced opposition, saying the decision of party president Ling Liong Sik to ram the deal through could cost votes.
"If this is translated into votes against the party, then we are going to have a challenging task ahead," MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper on Thursday.
The Chinese vote was crucial in delivering Mahathir's coalition victory in the November 1999 election. "If the MCA does not heed the popular call to abandon the deal, we are forced to predict that the party will have to pay a very high price in the next general election," Ngan said.
Chinese groups and opposition parties see the takeover of the Chinese-language Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press as a further blow to press freedom.
Ling Liong Sik, MCA president and transport minister, has said the deal would be funded through bank borrowings.
Party deputy president Lim Ah Lek, who has long waged a power struggle with Ling, voted against the deal and in a statement explained why.
He said Huaren would use its 40 million new shares in Nanyang Press, plus its entire holding in Star Publications, as security for the loan.
"This means that MCA is utilizing almost all of the assets of Huaren Holdings in the aforesaid investment," Lim said. "The investment risk is thus obvious."
He said party assets, which belong to all members, should be carefully handled to "avoid repeating mistakes that had caused us severe pains in the past."
Lim said he was astonished that the huge deal was sealed even before the party central committee met.
The MCA must also consider the views of the Chinese community as a whole, "for without the support of the Chinese community the MCA can never survive."
In comments late Wednesday, Lim had said he was concerned about the community's feelings "because if this turns into votes against the party it will be a challenging task."
The National Front relied heavily on votes from the Chinese and Indian minorities in the last election when many Malays turned against it.
The Chinese-language press has traditionally been more independent than its English and Malay counterparts, which are almost totally controlled by interests close to the National Front.
Ling Thursday reiterated his party would not interfere in editorial matters. "Only professional managers will be involved in running both the papers," he said.