Editor resigns, paper apologizes

Fri, 28 Dec 2001 | Source: AP

MALAYSIA: The editor of a newspaper that reported an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his top deputy has resigned, and the paper published a front-page apology on Thursday for running the story.

The Sun newspaper's apology said that the Christmas Day exclusive, which cited unidentified police sources as saying that local politicians had hired a hitman to kill Mahathir and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was based on allegations that had "no foundation."

Mahathir, leader of this Southeast Asian country for 20 years, has brushed off the report and said that police had not informed him of any such plot. He expressed concerns that Malaysia would get a reputation as a hotbed of terrorism and that the economy would suffer. --AP

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