I read with disbelief that Umno Youth wants to "teach" malaysiakini a lesson. In the process of that "teaching", Umno Youth public welfare bureau chief Ismail Sabri Yaakob has done much harm to the country in the international arena, to fellow Malaysians and to the Malay Malaysian rights that they purport to defend.

He projects himself in a news report as a patriot, but it does not take a rocket scientist to realise the far-reaching damage he has done to the country. The letter he finds so strongly objectional and blames for a 'would-be cause' of racial disharmony in Malaysia is a tickle compared with the strong-arm tactics he deploys. What is the difference between his method and the Gestapo's in Germany's dark past? Another comparative study for us to think about.

Not o­nly he has shown that Umno Youth confronts a situation in a cowardly and uncivilised manner, he has also sent out damaging signals to would-be investors in the Multimedia Super Corridor that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has so painstakingly promoted for the good of all Malaysians.

I have much admiration for Mahathir and his vision. Unfortunately, no matter how great a man and his vision are or how much good he has done for his country, it can be ruined by those around him. The police actions have also done much damage to the country.

Malaysia has come a long way, it is indeed sad to see democratic principles laid down by our great forebears, trampled upon by the few power-crazed political beings. Unwittingly, the affair has become undesirable fodder for international attention.

Malaysiakini, in giving people a platform to air their independent views, has done a lot of good for the country's image. It has also provided the politicians the grassroots' feedback to their policies. It is definitely an advantage for the politicians and country. To stifle this platform o­nly fuel the perception that we are indeed a dictatorship.

Malaysia has also been trying to lure back Malaysian scientists and professionals to help in the country's development. Umno Youth's intolerance and high-handed police actions over a letter to the editor (which I thought was, like editor Steven Gan has mentioned, the writer's opinion that can be rebutted by anyone who does not with it, without the need to call in the police) would make anyone reluctant to make that move.