I was amused to read Steve Oh's opinion about censorship ([#1] Curbing the naked debauchery of media sex [/#], Feb 22). I am only new to this website, but this is the first article I find here that is pro-government. Is this an aberration, a stunt or a genuine piece of journalism?

I felt I had to write to your editorial board as I thought the essence of this website promoted free press, the right to view information in an unbiased way and the right to decide what information one wants to view. Ultimately, what is important is choice.

I have to say that the writer is misguided in saying that a lot of society's ills are related to the fact that sex and violence are constantly being portrayed on the media. There has been no evidence to suggest this to date. It would be nice to believe that the portrayal of sexual matters on our screens is directly responsible for all the rape, incest and decline in moral standards that we face today, but this link is tenuous at best and has yet to be proven conclusively. While I am not denying a link, I think any link would be multi-factorial and complex in nature.

I do not support censorship of any kind. This country is a prime example of why censorship does not work. It breeds rumours, misconceptions and distorted views. When the whole picture is not present, one can only view things in a distorted fashion.

In reference to the idiot box, there is this thing on the remote control called an 'off button'. I would encourage the writer to exercise his fingers in search of it. Stricter parental controls are also needed. In Malaysia where TV is generally rather 'tame' in content, the real problem is VCDs that are sold openly where the content of these VCDs are occasionally 'adult' in nature. I have noticed parents who exercise virtually no control over what their children watch in this way!

We live in a hypocritical society where things are done often in the name of religion and race and not for the real reasons. I think Malaysians are ready for 'the real thing'. It is insulting to think that we can't cope with the real world and reality for what it really is. How long can we continue to hide ourselves away? Let it all hang out, I say!