COMMENT "Pa, I have got a job with Malaysiakini !"

I can still recall how the lines of trepidation contorted my father's face when I broke this news that was "terrible" for him. His concern was justified.

It was 2001 and Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister, the threat of being hauled up under the Internal Security Act loomed large and the mainstream media was littered with accusations of the online portal being funded by pro-Zionist elements.

I must admit that I too was a little spooked.

Being in my mid-20s then, the prospect of spending two years or more in the Kamunting Detention Camp was not thrilling, to say the least.

But working with Malaysiakini was a revelation of the journalistic kind for someone who stumbled into this industry by accident, starting off in a newspaper where editors crumpled and tossed press statements from opposition leaders into the waste bin and spiked stories following a telephone call from the powers-that-be.

malaysiakini 10000 article 100409 police raid at malaysiakini office 2003 It was here that I learned the importance of press freedom, human rights, fundamental liberties as well as other strange and alien terms.

After serving for nine years, I had decided that the time was ripe for a change and tendered my resignation letter in 2010.

Now, providence has returned me to the place where it all started.

Yes, currently there are numerous online news portals out there and people have no reservations working in these places, for the situation is no longer as hostile as compared with the past.

This is a positive sign.

But I am certain Mahathir, on the other hand, will disagree. And if the grapevine is to be believed, the octogenarian and his minions are attempting to engineer a blast from the past.

As I went about the arduous task of texting those in my phonebook to inform them that I had re-joined Malaysiakini , one ruling politician, after wishing me well, added: " Malaysiakini is to Pakatan what Utusan is to Umno."

I disagreed, pointing out to him that while Malaysiakini provides the space for BN politicians to air their views, Utusan does not extend the same privilege to those in the opposition, unless it concerned internal disputes. In such instances, one even makes it to the front page, complete with a blown-up photograph.

Hence, the analogy lacked merit.

Lopsided battle

Furthermore, I find it hilarious when BN politicians kick up a fuss about ethical and objective reporting, something that none of them gave two hoots about prior to the 2008 general election.

It is an undeniable fact that Malaysiakini and several other news portals, which suffer from the same pro-Pakatan stigma, publish more opposition than BN-related material.

But that is the niche market to which these portals cater for - providing Malaysians with reports that the mainstream media will not publish.

When the playing field is not level, it will be nothing short of juvenile to expect these news portals to provide balanced reporting.

NONE Imagine a football match with one team having 22 players and a smaller goalpost on their end against their opponents who have 11 players and a goalpost twice in size on their side.

To make matters worse, the referee and linesmen seem to be favouring the team with 22 players, turning a blind eye to the lunging tackles and offsides but have a penchant for blowing the whistle and raising the flag when it involves the other team, even when the transgressions are debatable.

And the 22 players, their manager, coach and supporters expect the sports reporters covering the match to write an "objective" analysis about the game and to proclaim them as having won, fair and square.

They take umbrage when the defeated team cries foul and accuses them of being sore losers.

And when the reports highlight how lopsided the game was or disclose the allegations of their opponents, they claim the reporters and their respective news organisations are in cahoots with the other team.

Pardon me, but I fail to grasp the logic here. Perhaps my cerebrum is fused or perhaps such warped arguments would only make sense if I don a BN jersey.

Either way, it is good to be back!

RK ANAND is assistant chief editor in Malaysiakini .