On page six of New Sunday Times (Feb 15) there was a tiny column reporting that the Free Anwar gathering at Cherok To'Kun had been a failure, only attracting about 500 people. It mentioned only that Keadilan leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had urged the government to free Anwar Ibrahim.

For a start, the crowd was about 10,000 (no mistake with the number of zeros), and if a reporter had been there s/he would surely have added that it included young, middle-aged and elderly, men and women, Chinese, Malays and Indians in short, a truly Malaysian crowd. S/he might even have noted that the Keadilan's leadership was there in full force.

It would have been noted that, while the police and FRU were on standby, since the crowd was orderly and the logistics well-handled by a large force of dedicated Barisan Alternatif officials and volunteers, the police had no reason to intervene and the whole programme was, as planned, a peaceful gathering.

A reporter would also surely have caught more than a single point from that night's almost three hours of speeches by a dozen speakers, mostly leading opposition politicians especially when this number included big names such as Wan Azizah, Dr Syed Husin Ali, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Azmin Ali and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Dr Hatta Ramli and Tian Chua.

Of course, one of the big questions asked, by more than one speaker, was why Abdullah Ahmad

Badawi, projecting an image as a caring and God-fearing prime minister, is apparently making no move at all to put a halt to the shameful and cruel injustice done to Anwar Ibrahim? Why, when he has promised a new era of openness and accountability, is he continuing with his predecessor's policy of denial and lies regarding Anwar?

But there was more: Why is the charge filed against Eric Chia a relatively minor one involving a paltry RM74 million when Perwaja's financial mess under his stewardship ran to billions? Will Najib Abdul Razak, our deputy prime minister, no less, be disciplined by the Umno president for allegedly practising money politics, in response to the affidavit filed by a Keadilan Youth leader stating that Najib offered him money to join Umno? Or will that also end up as another mere promise?

These (and many others also raised during the evening) are valid questions and relate to issues

which, having far-reaching implications on the future direction of our country, deserve a frank and comprehensive airing in our media. Our new prime minister promised renewal in many fundamental areas, which were rightly welcomed and applauded, but, with a general election just around the corner, the voters need to make an informed assessment as to whether or not those promises are actually being fulfilled.

If I remember rightly, greater freedom of the media was another of those promises.