Malaysian editor fired after irking ruling party

[dArKeR]

The editor-in-chief of Malaysia's New Straits Times group has lost his job after publishing comments that media executives said had upset the country's ruling party, media sources said yesterday.

The sacking of Abdullah Ahmad, following what one source said was a Saudi protest over an article criticising the kingdom's royal family, is set to cause ripples in the industry because media editors usually rise and fall with the government's nod.

NST, the country's oldest newspaper group and one of the biggest, is linked to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling United Malays National organization. Media sources said the decision came after the prime minister, who is currently acting party president, met senior UMNO leaders late on Thursday.

The sources said there were several grounds for the sacking, the main one being a Saudi government protest over an article by Abdullah criticising the Saudi royal family.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2003/11/22/1069468594.htm