The letter Time for our blogosphere to mature singled out the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) and referenced our centre as priding ourselves on ‘providing accurate information’ and being an ‘uncompromising watchdog’.

The letter-writer also claimed that ‘in an article just prior to article pleading for [MACC] neutrality, [Lim Teck Ghee’s] piece entitled Lawyers’ submission on Perak MB case (2) lacks that very neutrality he champions.

If the writer feels that the CPI and I lack neutrality, I can only say we try our best to live up to our ideals. However, the function of a watchdog does not mean that our small-staffed website needs to provide equal coverage to the government side.

After all, the BN by virtue of its incumbency dominates media output in an almost virtual monopoly, and lately even in virtual space, as seen in the Umno-linked Facebook activity against non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah’.

This follows on from the BN control of the airwaves, saturation penetration of black propaganda through print media, information ministry, Biro Tata Negara, and other government and quasi- government agencies since the early days.

And not to forget the RM20 million reportedly paid out to a topnotch international public relations agency by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak shortly after assuming office.

On the specific allegation by the writer that ‘only submissions by Mohd Nizar Jamaludin’s lawyers were presented [and] submissions by Zambry’s lawyers were left out’, we had sent an e-mail to Zambry Abdul Kadir’s lead counsel Cecil Abraham on Dec 1, 2009 requesting the same.

In our e-mail, we said, ‘The Centre for Policy Initiatives website would appreciate publishing the text of your arguments in full to give a sense of balance …’

We did not receive any response from Abraham or his office. The writer may be able to have better access than us and I am sure his/her submission on their behalf will be widely welcomed by the government media.

Rather than pick on bloggers who are contributing independent analyses on their own limited resources in trying to get the other side of the story across (when pitted against the juggernaut of the BN behemoth – often using taxpayers’ money), the writer would do better to ponder on how un-level the information playing field presently is and the importance of rectifying it.

Over the last five decades, official propaganda peddled by the ruling party and pushed by its operatives in the mass media has portrayed the Umno and BN point of view as the middle ground based on their own projection of ‘objective’ fact.

This half-century of political spinning and consequential mental conditioning appears to have achieved a measure of success as the writer and others of similar ilk seem convinced by the BN media claim of accuracy, ethics and upholding the people’s interests when the reality is quite the opposite. No wonder the struggle for a better Malaysia is such an uphill struggle.