I agree with Charles F Moreira that there is no such thing as an independent media since they are owned by different people with different vested interests whether they are political parties, individuals or corporations ([#1] No such thing as 'independent' media [/#] Feb 15).

My opinion is based on my experience in Malaysia and overseas. I am not surprised if the writer thinks Malaysiakini.com is anti-establishment. Perhaps, it is a natural response to the establishment's anti-Malaysiakini.com stand. I understand their journalists are barred from government briefings and functions for no valid reason. How then will they be able to report what the government says?

I do, however, believe some media are more independent than others in the way their editors are allowed to present news and articles. Independence is a question of degree. For example, here in Australia, different newspapers are known to support different political parties. Disagreements or spats between media owners, e.g. Kerry Packer (Australia's richest man) and Rupert Murdoch (News Corp), and the government are not unknown (eg. Packer versus Keating). As these men hold ultimate control over their businesses (though there is a degree of editorial independence) guess who has the last say when it matters.

But there is one interesting feature in Australia. The ABC network is a government-sponsored television station. Yet, it enjoys a high degree of editorial independence that would make Malaysian and Singaporean journalists jump for joy. It is not unusual to see the journalists grill government ministers on television during current affairs programmes. Accountability to the people via the media is not a theory but reality here. But journalists are not perfect either and what they say and write need to be evaluated for their truth, accuracy and merit.

I know what media bias can be like even in a Western country. Three years ago my wife and I were much involved in the abortion debate in Perth. We were against the move by a private Labour bill in the Western Australian Parliament to legalise abortion. We debated our position on national television and the local newspapers and radio station as co-founders of Doctors Against Abortion, a group of more than 100 doctors who were anti-abortion. To our chagrin we found the media were biased in favour of abortion. It was an eye-opener to deal with a media that was prejudiced from the start.

While the Western media is generally more liberal and democratic because of their societies, do not think they do not have their own agendas and may slant reports.

Writing constructive letters to newspapers is a good way to express one's ideas and opinions. Since criticism is necessary to bring about change and sometimes merely reflects a difference of opinion; it is a mark of maturity to be able to receive criticism without balking or getting enraged and becoming vindictive.

Intelligent people are not swayed by propaganda or deception. If Malaysiakini.com is an outright organ of the opposition, people will not support it. If it is an apparent lackey of the government, people will not support it either. People access it because it is a vehicle to carry the truth that someone somewhere does not want people to know. Or, as its motto says, 'Only the news that matters'. That it receives 100,000 hits a day speaks for its success. It fills a niche market. Newspapers that carry propaganda too often face a credibility problem even when they report the truth.

Time will tell if it lives up to its image of independence and those of us who cherish truth and are non-partisan will be its best judges. I feel, however, unless it has some rich uncles that economic reality will bear upon its viability. Such was the fate of Agenda Malaysia , another editorial star that glowed for a while and burnt out of financial backing.

To depend on donations leaves malaysiakini open to suggestions of compromise. Perhaps it should initiate a People's Independent News Foundation that could buy up the daily. A charter to protect the editorial independence of the daily could be written up. The public can then donate monies to the foundation and establish truly independent newspapers.

It is insulting to the intelligence if we keep reading newspapers that are always praising the government, whoever the government is. We need to praise the government where praise is due because they are human and will appreciate encouragement. But it is important for those in government to know they hold the future of many people in their hands. It is an onerous thing to be in government. And sometimes they need criticism for their own good. People should be worried when governments think they are above criticism.

On the other hand, it is also tiresome to read news that are only critical of the government. I believe Malaysiakini.com tries to be fair and feel the letter writer's criticism of its hypocrisy, unfounded.

An important role of the media in a democracy is to be the people's social conscience. And I think this is being done by Malaysiakini.com. While it may appear anti-establishment, I think it acts responsibly. I find its contents no more critical than the contributions of the late oppositionist Dr Tan Chee Khoon who was the country's leading social critic after his retirement from politics and who used to write with verve and wit for The Star . Many of malaysiakini 's articles are no more anti-establishment than the ramblings of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's beloved first Prime Minister, in his popular, 'As I See It' column, written also for The Star in the early 1980s.

If I want to put Malaysiakini.com out of business I will let the other newspapers do what it is doing: Report news as it should be reported. If I were in government I would relish criticism because it gives me useful feedback and ideas that I don't have to pay for. There is an ancient proverb, "If you criticise a wise man he will love you, but if you chastise a fool he will hate you."

At the end of the day, nobody takes newspapers seriously except those who produce them and those who issue their permits. How many of us still remember what we read yesterday? Writing letters to the editor is like shadow boxing, but it is better than sleeping in the shadow or arms of tyranny, error or untruths.

Journalists who write professionally to inform without fear or favour are worth supporting and they are true patriots of a country especially when they face harassment from those who are afraid of what they reveal. I wish I had the courage to be a journalist in such circumstances.