I refer to your story of May 16 "[#1]KeADILan, not DAP, to contest Teluk Kemang[/#]". There are glaring inaccuracies in your report which should be corrected immediately in the interest of journalistic ethics.

At no point in the course of the two-hour meeting of the Barisan Alternatif Leaders Council on May 15, did I or any other council member say that if KeADILan is not allowed to fight the seat, KeADILan might withdraw from the BA coalition.

I would invite your reporter, Ng Boon Hooi, to interview each and every council member to find out for herself if such a view was ever expressed.

In fact, the council meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. The candidness with which different standpoints were articulated was a testimony to the trust and confidence that prevail among the Barisan Alternatif parties.

KeADILan has always enjoyed excellent relations with the DAP. My own personal ties with leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, Chen Man Hin, Ahmad Nor, nKarpal Singh, Kerk Kim Hock and Lim Guan Eng, among others, have been nothing less than warm and brotherly.

In the Teluk Kemang by-election you can rest assured that KeADILan and DAP and the other BA parties will cooperate closely. It will be a BA candidate and not a KeADILan representative, who will be entering the electoral arena on May 30 (nomination day).

The DAP will play a significant role in the entire election campaign. Guidance, advice and strategic planning on the part of DAP campaigners will be critical for the BA candidate's success in Teluk Kemang.

On a related matter, it is a blatant lie to suggest that obtaining the Teluk Kemang seat for KeADILan was a do or die battle for me personally since I had allegedly failed to obtain "more seats for KeADILan" in the last general elections. For the record, KeADILan was allocated more parliamentary seats than its BA partners in spite of the fact that it was just seven months old at that time.

Finally, I would expect more accurate and responsible reporting from malaysiakini , which is undoubtedly one of the most important channels for the expression of alternative views in Malaysia today.

Chandra Muzaffar

Deputy President

KeADILan