Malaysiakini editors surely have an uniquely difficult job in Malaysian journalism that cannot be the envy of any. It stems from their dedication to the concept of non-censorship: a concept that is non-existent elsewhere in Malaysian journalism.

They have to deal with perfectly sensible arguments from good people like John R Malott (most of his arguments are so) and yet they have to contend with uncalled for sarcasm of the sort that appeared in his last letter Let's be clear about the facts ; in which he says — not entirely to his credit — "It is rare to see someone argue so passionately that other people's rights should be suppressed, and that is important to have laws like the ISA so that other people can be locked up at the government's whim". This was hardly what Mustapha Ong meant, and we all know it.

Moreover, Malott — who is, I believe, a lawyer — should know better than to bury himself in a quagmire of facts (which are so susceptible to counter-point) as he (far too much) has recently, to his detriment.

It is matters of principle that matter and in this Malott has long won the day against Mustapha's obvious insincerity and wobble.

Against this malaysiakini editors have to deal with complaints of breach of confidence from Mustapha (see Right to choose one's abode of choice ) about his current whereabouts which was "exposed" by another letter writer, not malaysiakini .

In any event, what does it matter in this global village that the world has become, where one lives or who one is (after all, Malott lives in the US and is not even a Malaysian). It is the message that people deliver that matters.

In this, my sympathies are with Mustapha and not only because I am a Malaysian who currently lives overseas. I remember distinctly how my own residence overseas was a stick with which those who I disagreed with used to beat me with, yet these same people welcomed with open arms their overseas supporters without question.