I refer to the letter that labeled SOS Damansara as ungrateful and unprincipled . I believe that his point is oversimplified and he has a grave injustice to the SOS Damansara committee.

I believe that people have the right to comment on SOS Damansara but they must view the movement's struggles from a long and comprehensive perspective rather than from an emotional angle.

If one recalls the history of SOS Damansara, it started out a grassroots community movement that received wide ranging support from various sectors of society including the Chinese Guilds and Associations leadership of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the Dong Jiao Zong and opposition political parties in the Barisan Alternatif (BA), including PAS, Keadilan, PRM and DAP.

Many MCA and Gerakan members and leaders who held high posts in various Chinese guilds and associations also openly supported the SOS Damansara. It is acknowledged that a lot of MCA and Gerakan members disagreed with the shutting down of the SRJK(C) Damansara community school.

Over time, the SOS Damansara came into its own maturity and became independent from the political parties. From the point of people participation and emancipation, the purpose of the committee is not only to succeed in reopening the school but also to inspire and enlighten the grassroots to take their future into their own hands and fight for their rights without fear or favour.

As a result, the committee learnt to negotiate and how to strategically court useful assets. They refused to be patronised or be labeled as a opposition or ruling party tool. This enabled them to be free of political tensions that will hinder the movement's momentum.

But this by no way means that they had compromised or not stuck to their principles. Reaching out to various new sectors for support or trying to convert old ones does not mean that they are ungrateful.

As said by the Malay proverb goes berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul. It is not an easy task for the SOS Damansara leaders to try and pull out something from the current polarised political situation.

Thus, the support from local politician Lim Tuan Seng, who is in fact a state exco member, who has openly declared support to reopen the school should be viewed as a small step for the committee towards gaining more acceptance.

There now will be more support from the ruling parties to view the issue from the perspective of education right of the community rather than a convoluted, politicised issue where every one is trapped in a deadlock situation.

Deadlock meaning that the Barsian Nasional thinks that opening the school would mean a surrender to the DAP and opposition, while the DAP feels that any approach or appeal to BN politicians is a sell-out.

This dilemma must be solved for the future of the SRJK(C) Damansara students and the education rights of the people. If the DAP is clever, they will pressure Lim and other BN fellow politicians to make more concrete pledges to the committee.

DAP leaders should demonstrated their openness and statesmen-like attitude to welcome Lim and others who have now embraced the SOS Damansara cause rather than scolding them for their past mistakes.

DAP leaders should not fear that their efforts for the committee will be erased and forgotten. People are not fools; they know who has been far more consistent in the issue. DAP should learn that sometimes, due to reality, one step backward is actually two steps forward.

The Damansara folks are not a greedy lot who will fall for the petty sum of RM3,000 given by Lim. In fact, they themselves have been organising various campaigns and through their own sweat and hard work have raised more than RM60,000.

Therefore, let's see things from SOS Damansara's perspective before we resort to emotional name-calling.