KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday reminded local media to act responsibly after a newspaper report, later retracted, that a hitman was out to kill him.

Two editors at the Sun newspaper in Kuala Lumpur quit after the paper retracted its front-page report on Christmas Day that police uncovered a plot by some local politicians to assassinate Mahathir and his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“Everyone involved with the media must understand their responsibilities, not only to the industry but also the nation,” state news agency Bernama quoted Mahathir as saying.

The Sun, which quoted unnamed sources in the story, admitted the report was wrong when police denied the story and began investigating it.

The Sun apologised to Mahathir and Abdullah, saying its editor and editor-in-chief resigned over the controversy.

The newspaper’s managing editor, chief news editor, the reporter who wrote the story and a photographer were suspended.

Mahathir approved of the Sun’s action, but said he would have preferred for such slip-ups not to recur.

“A newspaper report should take into account the interest of the nation because their existence in Malaysia is dependent on the country’s peace,” the prime minister said.

The Malaysian government regulates local newspapers through publishing permits, which can be suspended anytime, and mainstream newspapers seldom fall foul of regulations.

The 76-year-old Mahathir, in office since 1981, said he initially laughed off The Sun’s story but realised how damaging it was for Malaysia when foreign news agencies picked up the report and ran it.—Reuters