Once in a while an exceptional political representative will emerge in our midst. One such fine individual is our Yang Berkhidmat Elizabeth Wong.

Eli, as she is known to her friends, has long been a well-known figure in the Malaysian civil society movement. Eli brims with an authentic political and public personality - she is intelligent, well-read, talented, competent, skillful, and has shown to possess all the right concerns.

If one had thought of bribing a public official or luring some Pakatan Rakyat elected representative into the Barisan Nasional, one would have dropped Eli's name right from the beginning. She is incorruptible. It is, in fact, the people's great privilege that someone as sincere as this had at last run for public office.

We, the undersigned, are thus extremely concerned by the circumstances that she has found herself in currently. Having her private moments photographed without her consent is certainly a violation of her privacy and an outrage of her modesty. Equally important, we are especially appalled at the distribution of the photographs itself.

We abhor intimate images that intrude upon a person's privacy and used in the absence of consent. Subsequently, the distribution and exploitation of such images are what we must also be opposed to.

Contrary to the views of Mohd Khir Toyo, morality is about the deliverance of justice - the commitment to a sense of fair play in our management of conflicting interests.

While it may involve the need to honour our personal partnerships fairly, it has nothing to do with who have seen us in the nude or how we decide to conduct our personal lives, especially if it does not victimise anyone else.

We are then also dismayed by the manner in which certain media have chosen to portray, prioritise and sensationalise the issue with outrageous juxtapositions. Pertinent news about the poor, gender issues and indigenous peoples could never receive sufficient coverage in this country and yet some find it fit to peddle someone else's distress in a cheap way. This is very low.

We therefore would like to appeal to thePakatan Rakyat, PKR, Selangor chief minister and his state government to not simply just accept Eli's offer to resign. We urge you to continuously stand by her at this difficult juncture.

Please demonstrate to us that you are really worth our vote and have, despite all the odds set against you, attained a level of governance that can ably address such threats and intimidation without giving in to concerns that are petty and narrow-minded.

If you are adamant that she should stay, you will certainly be setting the bar on high ground, unreachable by dirty tactics.

However, if you choose to let her go, then we consider that you have lost one of our brightest and sincerest politicians. We will be extremely disappointed. You will have also set a political precedent that may again be used against you in the future, and again.

A resignation or dismissal of elected representatives should only take place when their behaviour is disruptive to the deliverance of justice or if they have somehow clearly demonstrated their lack of personal ethics and integrity.

A political party has to recognise its liabilities and risks correctly. Abuse of power, graft, corruption, deception, gross negligence, violence, incitement to hate and offensive conduct will certainly jeopardise its interests because they harm the people. Eli has committed none of these. Her integrity is intact.

We wish to see that our elected representatives get back to the job of running the country. Eli's performance has been exemplary since the day she took office. She must be reinstated as soon as possible.

Finally to Eli, we would like to pledge our strong support for you, at a personal level, and for your continued involvement in public service. Our hearts and thoughts are with you. We are indeed very much impressed by the manner in which you have handled this malicious personal attack with dignity.

Rest assured that this will not mar public perception of you or your party. We will stand by you as you overcome this. So please continue your service in the name of the people. We would like your voice to continue to be heard directly in the state assembly and during all important decision-making processes of the state. Please come back, Eli. The nation needs you.

Sign petition here .

The above letter was also signed by Yin Shao Loong, Theivanai Amarthalingam, Geetha Amarthalingam, Karina Yong, Sarguna Kumaari, Jessica Binwani, Yee I-Lan, Nandita Solomon and Amin Iskandar.