In criticising the lack of diversity in Pakatan Harapan's line-up, writer Karamjit Gill references an article on mine in his letter, ‘Unveiling of Pakatan's Game of Thrones’ but more importantly uses it as a basis of taking a swipe at the DAP's M Kulasegaran. The writer claims that Kula is a Sri Lankan masquerading as an "Indian".

To the best of my knowledge the honourable representative from Ipoh Barat is not Sri Lankan and to use ethnicity as a means to disparage his contribution to the DAP or imply that he is out of touch with "Indian" issues is part of the overall problem with the race discourse, especially amongst Indians in this country.

Kula is not only someone I consider a friend but also someone who has stuck his neck out highlighting issues that are marginalised in the mainstream press but which are important to the Indian community. Karamjit should refer to my piece in Malaysiakini – ‘Censorship in the no fire zone’ - to understand exactly what kind of Malaysian politician Kula is.

Whenever I write for Malaysiakini I always keep this Harlan Ellison quote in mind - “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

While I do not expect everyone to adhere to this, it would be nice if people who quote from my articles, do.

S Thayaparan

Commander (Rtd)

Royal Malaysian Navy