Long before the blog bug bit the Malaysian psyche, there was a mailing list called Sangkancil.

It was my first contact with alternative news - a mixed bag of rants, views and opinions that painted a very different world than that which was reported in the mainstream media. It was a time when Mosaic was still around, just about to be replaced by Netscape. At that time, I was an undergraduate in a public institution of higher learning, and the Sangkancil mailing list was not something you find everywhere.

That was how I came to know about MGG Pillai .

At that time, I didn't realise that the late Pillai was from English College - my own alma mater - until much later. By then, I was drawn like a moth to the flame of social sciences, and his passion for equality, justice and truth was truly infectious. He was also fiercely proud of the venerable institution that has produced many luminaries in various fields. Many has walked out of Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, as it is known today, and went on to achieve incredible success in life. Pillai will be remembered as one of our own among in long and illustrious list of distinguished Collegians.

Below the shield on the school emblem is the college motto Labore et Honore. Without doubt, Pillai was a man who lived up to those words. We should honour Pillai by remembering his work and the legacy he left behind through his writings in which his thoughts and beliefs are to be found. To me, he was a very sincere man, a patriot, and a true Malaysian who truly believed that 'Unity is Strength'.

As on Malaysia's coat of arms, this brand of unity is not supposed to be communal or religious, and neither exclusive nor blind along partisan lines. Our allegiance is to the land, the country many Malaysians call home despite being far and away. Our loyalty is to the state, the nation that many Malaysians feel affected when something good or bad happens. If you care about the country then you do something about it. Pillai certainly did far more than his share.

I still read the blogs and various alternative news websites, but it is difficult not to miss the prolific musings of a widely respected journalist. What the late Pillai believed in, and had worked tirelessly for, will not be forgotten. I can only hope that his ideals will live on, along the path this man has blazed for the rest of us to follow. Hopefully, it will lead to a better Malaysia with honorable men and women inspired in his wake.

My deepest condolences to his family.