As an ex-financial and corporate auditor of many years standing and now retired, I read Ganesh Sahathevan and Jeffrey's letters with interest. Ganesh's last statement asking 'Who is Jeffrey?' is no doubt effective writing, but irrelevant. Jefrrey has indeed raised reasonable questions.

If you wish to indulge in investigative journalism, you have to be very sure you get your prima facie facts right first before you start implying improprieties. I note Ganesh makes aspersions without being transparent about himself. This very fact erodes the credibility and standing of Ganesh as anyone can insinuate anything without being held accountable behind the veil of a virtual electronic media.

What if Ganesh is wrong? What if he has not got his facts right? What if the letters were falsified by him or parties unknown but with an agenda? Where does that put Ganesh? Will he then reveal himself or his sources? Will he be responsible and pay the price of slander if he is found to have been wilfully or unwittingly wrong in his public imputation of the innocent parties concerned?

'Who is Ganesh Sahathevan?' is indeed a pertinent question. The maxim, 'no authority without responsibility', applies equally to Ganesh and to all and sundry who take it upon themselves to strongly impute against others.

As an aside, normally I would think that Bank Negara is a very professional body and above the sort of imputations made. They have demonstrated time and again, in very professional ways, such as when they withheld approval for someone nominated to the board of directors of financial institutions due to background checks and knowledge.

However, during the period of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's tenure, the venerable central bank - so assiduously built by Tun Ali Ismail as a reputable bank over many years - was compromised in its independence and professionalism vis-a-vis the ruling party.

As such allegations of the sort by Ganesh do make one stop and wonder - 'Is there a possibility of it being true?'. Especially when recalling the RM20 billion ringgit forex losses incurred not too long ago. Bank Negara, indeed, has a hill to climb now to recover and rebuild its reputation.

As Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a reformer who has opened up the media for freer speech, I wonder why, under this circumstances, people should so appallingly and cowardly attack his administration with such bravado and not the misdeeds of the previous administration which has not been fully accounted for yet? Why not pursue the issue of the multi-billion ringgit forex losses by Bank Negara and Finance Ministry under the ex-PM?

There are other even bigger issues such as Filipinos and Indonesians being given identity cards and passports in Sabah. If this is not one of gross treason and subterfuge of our national interest, what is? The ex-PM was also the home minister. There should have been a senatorial inquiry, if not impeachment, of the ex-PM on the matter. What is the Senate doing? Sleeping?

As a peer house, it should be performing a check and balance on any abuses by any key decision maker of the day. Have they - as our elder statesmen and women - raised on a non-partisan basis - any new issues of interest to the public by way of support or non-support of any major policy issues that may or may not be in the national interest? Have they ever done this keeping at the back of their minds the larger global audience watching us on our journey to be come a fully fledged and mature democracy, and taking our place in the world?

To end as such here, if Ganesh is indeed interested in leaving his mark on the historical foot notes of having contributed to making Malaysia a better nation via accountability of the government, then he should be more forthcoming and reveal himself, and pursue the issue he has raised as well as the issues touched upon in the foregoing paragraphs. There is indeed much to account for by the ex-PM's administration.