Whilst it is true as QG Rozario observed ( Tired of mkini's anti-Mahathir rhetoric

) that your website has published mainly (about more than 70 percent) of views critical of the establishment, it would however be unfair for the writer to summarily conclude, without more, that the absence of so-called "independent views or fair criticisms" was a deliberate result of your selective editorial policies.

I take it that by "independent views or fair criticisms" the writer meant a more balanced and informed discourse, taking comprehensively into account all sides to an equation or issue and not just "billeous anti-Mahathir rhetoric" churned out, according to the writer, by o­nly "staff or writers and a small group of dissenters (rebels without a cause), and in general from people

connected with your publication".

So where are the pro-Mahathirists or shall I say more balanced and informed writers? There is nothing to stop any BN politician minister or even the prime minister himself to say something in malaysiakini but they don't because that would be giving too much recognition to it.

It is also difficult to publish the government's side of the story when malaysiakini has not been given the accreditation to attend official press conferences.

Also being fledging and financially stressed is malaysiakini in the capacity to employ more experienced journalists like those in Far Eastern Economic Review or Asiaweek ?

Academics? How many Farish Noors are there in our tertiary institutions who are willing to regularly contribute?

There may well be other reasons.

First of all, many in political, corporate or professional circles and who are in positions of knowledge have absolutely no interest in making any contributions to malaysiakini . This is because they all have a career, business and pecuniary interest in not attracting too much attention in being identified with what is perceived as an anti-establishment publication. The recent police raid o­n Malaysiakini.com's office didn't help and the pressure o­n its landlord PC Suria to issue the misconceived eviction notice demonstrates the element of "business and professional interest".

Secondly many of these persons may be eloquent in thoughts and speech but this eloquence is not reduced to writing. Many are so used to giving orders and instructions that they simply have forgotten how to write.

Thirdly even if many of these over-40s could write, they are not computer-savvy and either view with terror the keyboard or endeavour to type with two fingers!

The younger set more inept with the Internet are however idealistic, which translated means more anti-establishment for surely there must be a lot about politics and society that fall short of democratic ideals and principles.

More importantly, and until recently, this country has no culture of public debate or rights recognition. They are more used to venting their grouses in private rather than articulating them in the public space.

In fact, conventional wisdom is that of public silence because it is widely perceived that there is no advantage - nay quite the opposite - in speaking out o­n public and political issues of the day. There is always a fear that o­ne's views may be misconstrued. It is no good for business, personal image and family to attract attention through "anti-Mahathir and anti-government" malaysiakini .

So is there really an editorial censorship of more balanced discourse that resulted in anti-Mahathir rhetoric or is there simply a dearth of participants in this forum?

The writer is too quick to criticise this very forum that is struggling to push for a free and open public discourse space.