I refer to the article entitled, Can Malaysiakini survive five more years? by Sim Kwang Yang.

While I understand Sim's concern for the survival of the website, the fact that the portal has come this far in five years is a sure cause for celebration.

And celebrate they did , with razzmatazz punctuated by a very infectious spirit of bonhomie at their birthday do on Nov 27. A historic moment for the portal I had the privilege of partaking; what more with an endorsement from former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim with regards to the company's future.

The fact that malaysiakini celebrated its birthday so very forthrightly and brazenly is indeed a measure of its success with more than 1,000 supporters present. Nowhere in the party did I see the so-called 'half -flickering lights of civil society' Sim mentioned in his article.

Now let's be clear about malaysiakini . It was born in 1999 during a period of heightened pessimism, cynicism and disillusionment - a time when the Anwar Ibrahim saga was at its peak.

The mood then generally was that the country was headed in the wrong direction what with the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and the perceived crisis in the country's political leadership.

The mainstream media, which was trusted to investigate supposed wrongdoing, looked tame and lame. It went against the ideological base of the people when it chose not to launch broadsides against the ruling party with regards to the treatment and humiliation suffered by Anwar which, in my estimation, was a direct affront to the 'traditional mores' of the Malays.

Thus was born malaysiakini whose sole purpose, as it says, is to provide independent news and views. By aiming to do just precisely that, its views are an amalgam of the orthodox to the unorthodox and not to say the least, the heterodox.

Malaysiakini shows that democracy as we understand it is best marshaled when views are universally heard, values of the society incorporated in media reporting, wrongdoings investigated and above all implementing measures that can eventually bring to fruition a civil society.

All of these will require the time, support and encouragement of the people as it is they who want to build the nation they aspire for. This they should do fearlessly and if fear stops them from coming forward, then they certainly deserve the fate they get into.

Pessimism of the kind expressed in Sim's article simply does not have a place as the malaysiakini that I and the 1,000 other guests at Hotel Flamingo presumably know has at least a fighting chance to become a serious alternative to the mainstream media.

It will be good if Sim can share with all others the spirit of the times which is to take part in the building of a serious media alternative that malaysiakini now affords. The issue here is the need for a fiercely independent media alternative. That indeed is the case with malaysiakini .

It has been around for a good five years now and can possibly remain around for many more good years if people collectively decide that media freedom is something they value.