GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has accepted the retraction and apology of The Star newspaper over an article written by its chief political correspondent Joceline Tan.
Lim’s legal officer Raja Syarafina Raja Shuib said this following the newspaper’s retraction and apology published on Dec 25.
Lim had accused The Star of publishing a “false and misleading” report titled “Snap election for Penang” in the July 17 edition of the Sunday Star.
Tan, in her opinion piece running nearly 50 paragraphs, had written about a meeting of the DAP leadership, where they were said to have discussed a proposal for snap Penang elections. She had also written about the controversial Taman Manggis land issue.
“While the published statements were and remain inaccurate, Lim has graciously accepted The Star’s retraction and apology.
“Without which, an amicable settlement would not have been possible between the parties.
“It must be emphasised that the chief minister has been the target of concerted efforts to malign and defame him, with all sorts of preposterous lies to sully his reputation and tarnish his standing amongst the public,” Raja Syarafina said in a statement today.
Raja Syarafina hoped such incidents would not happen again in the future.
“Malaysian journalism should strive to be distinctively marked by actual facts and figures, and not embarrassingly marred by irresponsible inaccuracies.” she said.
In its apology, the newspaper said the said article contained statements that were inaccurate in relation to Lim.
“We unequivocally retract those statements and apologise for any inconvenience that may be caused to the Chief Minister of Penang.” the daily said on Dec 25.
According to Raja Syarafina, the impugned and inaccurate statements, as published in the article, made reference to, among others, new accusations against Lim relating to the Taman Manggis land issue and insinuations of links between certain individuals as well as improper administrative action in the State.
Tan’s column did not go into the details of the Taman Manggis land. However, she said there were fears about what might be revealed at Lim’s trial and mentioned talk of possible charges that might arise from the Taman Manggis controversy.