I take no offence at Mustapa Ong Abdullah's letter

in which he disagreed with me over the 'significance' of the forthcoming meeting between Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pope John Paul.

However, I'm compelled to write, to clear his doubt over my "true identity". I am a Malaysian citizen, a bumiputra (certainly not a foreigner in disguise as Mustapa had suggested), and was a loyal supporter of Umno. Guess which side of the political divide I'm with now?

One of the reasons I choose malaysiakini to state my views is, the willingness on the part of the latter to publish my letter, and yours, even though we have differing views — as far as the PM-Pope meeting is concerned.

However, the chances of Mustapa's letter getting space in the mainstream media, no doubt, look better than mine.

Again, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.