I have to disagree with some the points raised by YL in his letter The difference between 'good news' and the truth

.

But as with many readers of malaysiakini , I do agree that the o­nline daily is currently the alternative media for Malaysians and plays an important role in disseminating news and views from the 'other side'.

However, I believe that malaysiakini's credibility should not come from publishing any letter that comes its way, rather, the 'good o­nes' with facts and constructive/fair criticisms.

I believe that must filter out those just wanting to vent their frustration/anger towards the prime minister or the government or even the opposition without the necessary facts. Such constructive opinions would be a better way to tell the country what actually is happening and then let the

rakyat decide.

As for the letters submitted, I am sure malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan and his team would not have the time to vet through all for accuracy, but surely those to be published o­n the website must be checked.

For example, the letter

by Petrof which caused all the uproar and the 'raid' has several flaws. Firstly, I was unable to find Article XVIII of the 1776 Constitution that it mentioned. Perhaps someone could shed some light o­n this.

Secondly, his point referring to the 10%-15% returns o­n unit trusts for bumiputera. I believe that he is referring to the Amanah Saham Bhd and Amanah Sahan Nasional schemes or those run by Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd. I would like to know where he obtained the figures. Best returns from ASB which includes bonus returns have been 13.25% (1996; check with the PNB website). Please bear in mind that the bonus issue is not given to all depositors. The returns for most depositors have been between 8% and 10.25%. Why and how such returns can be obtained is another discussion altogether.

Thirdly, Petrof stated that he was told that the Malay administration refuses to give Orang Asli allowances and medical benefits unless they become Muslims. The operative word here is "he was told". What proof do we have of this being true?

In addition, how well are the Native Americans doing in the US if Petrof needs to draw upon such a comparison? How many Afro-Americans or minorities are represented in the Senate? As at end 2003, there are no African American in the Senate and o­nly 37 out of 435 (8.5%) in the House of Representatives. How many Chinese and Indian Malaysians do we have as members of Parliament?

The following was quoted from a press statement by malaysiakini o­n Jan 20, 2003: "At a press conference after the raid, Gan described the action as an excuse to shut down malaysiakini , saying the letter was not seditious but only 'a comparative study based o­n facts'."

Therefore, press freedom cannot be absolute. Without certain boundaries, the country would be in chaos. How certain are we that developed countries' press are free to print or broadcast news as it sees fit? How would our lives be if there were no boundaries to our actions?

Would we teach our children to do whatever he/she likes during their growing years? I am 32, yet my parents are still teaching/advising me o­n the ways of life. Religion has taught me that I can do whatever i like but within certain boundaries...something which holds true even in business.

Nevertheless, I do agree that the government must not surpress "factual" news from being pubslihed by malaysiakini or any other media. However, malaysiakini and others must be responsible and print o­nly articles that are factual and constructive and not o­nes that could incite racial disharmony/discontent.

Therefore, YL's recommendation to let readers decide for themselves the veracity of any opinion or report is o­nly partly correct. Let the readers decide factual news and those based o­n research. Not just any news that gets printed o­n the website.

Readers are very much like investors...very irrational and have the tendency to believe anything they read, listen or see without first looking at the facts. The downside of this is that damage could well be done before we realise it.