PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has reconciled with Sin Chew Daily before he stepped down as the party’s secretary-general, says the new secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

“Lim has made the first step of visiting Sin Chew Daily a week before the DAP national congress.

“His visit was a sign of reconciliation with Sin Chew Daily as it calmed the strained ties that had lasted for more than ten years.

“I must thank him. This has enabled me to have a fresh start with Sin Chew Daily,” said Loke who visited Sin Chew Daily with DAP vice chairman Nga Kor Ming and publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching on March 31.

He was received by Sin Chew Daily editor-in-chief Kuik Cheng Kang.

Loke, who took over as DAP sec-gen on March 20, said the party had never boycotted Sin Chew Daily despite misunderstandings.

In an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Loke said he intended to maintain good ties with the media as the party relies on the media to disseminate information and messages to the people.

He said it was crucial for politicians to understand and respect the media.

“Since becoming a state assemblyman in 2004, I have been keeping good ties with local Chinese media.

“Without new coverage, DAP’s service and statements would have no platform to publish,” he said.

As the then secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng said in a statement in 2019 that “Sin Chew Daily’s only objective is to bring down DAP.”

Sin Chew Daily published the statement in full with a response “let the readers decide” featured in its editorial column.

Loke said readers would be the ones to judge on the newspaper’s credibility.

“We have never boycotted Sin Chew Daily despite the many grudges between it and the DAP, especially since 2008.

“We never single out Sin Chew Daily reporters. When we were the government, we did not turn away the media. We were also fair to TV3, Utusan by inviting all media to attend our events for news coverage,” he said.