Malaysiakini had lied. Therefore it has lost its credibility; no longer can it claim that it is an independent, reliable news provider, I hear some say. If the government-owned news media is the Twiddledee, these folks assert, then malaysiakini is the Twiddledum.

Indeed, they even claim that this whole malaysiakini -Soros funding saga is some sort of a 'malaysiakinigate'.

Oh my!

What is at stake here? Is this a question about truth and lies? No, not at all! Malaysia is a nation where many make a profession out of lying. That inconvenient truth has become a scarce resource in Malaysian politics. The government folk, and their friends and relatives, have prospered immensely by keeping the nation in the dark, by denying the people the necessary information.

Thanks to this sort of 'blackout', inefficiency, corruption and cronyism became endemic problems in Malaysia. The Asian currency crisis finally destroyed the facade and laid bare the social, political and economic realities of Malaysia.

At this juncture, came malaysiakini (along with other Internet news providers like Saksi , AgendaMalaysia and Harakahdaily ) to return the job of governing Malaysia back to the people, the citizens of Malaysia. In the last one year, malaysiakini has served our nation well. It has literally become the beacon of hope and sanity in our blessed and benighted land.

But, alas, it has been overly effective - yes, overly effective - in exposing the falsities that were taken for granted in Malaysia. But for how long could our government brook so much criticism (immaterial of the veracity of the criticism)? Hence, this sudden concern for 'truth'.

So, what is at stake here, in this malaysiakini -Soros saga? I say it is our very democratic way of life.

We should ask this question: Should Malaysia continue to enjoy a free press? If yes, then all of us should back malaysiakini , irrespective of the origin of the funds . If the answer is no, then well, what more can I say?

My stand is clear. Good governance can exist only if people are kept informed. Therefore, malaysiakini gets my vote.