“Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

COMMENT It is rather cliche perhaps to summon these words from Dylan Thomas’ iconic piece, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’.

But no words I can muster on my own mirror the whimpers now echoing inside my heart, more effectively than the ones crafted by the rather eloquent Welsh poet.

For therein is a cavity long in the making, an empty space created anew with every piece of my heart that dies, as if with every jilting by past lovers.

But perhaps in this context, it is the hollow that follows every departure of portals and publications past, journalists present, and the future fears that such development creates.

Woe be it to our acclaimed democracy if all it is, is but to cry “I am democratically elected” but fail to act with the people's trust in mind in using, or more accurately, abusing the people’s mandate of rule.

Woe be it to our so called democracy, when one of the most important democratic component; The fourth estate, continue to be curtailed from doing its duty to inform, agitate, educate, engage and empower the rakyat.

But such is the tales of our times, and this void that the soon to be departure of The Malaysian Insider ( TMI ) will recreate, is but another annex to the already vast vacuum, that is the Malaysian independent media landscape.

On a more personal note, I cut my teeth as a journalist in Malaysiakini , before moving on and now returning, and as natural and traditional rivals we have a love-hate relationship with TMI .

For they are our most fiercest of competitors, whom I personally believe have forced us to reinvent and recreate ourselves to stay relevant, due to their ever present nipping at our heels. And I must concede, at times they may have beaten us to the punch.

More than just rivals

But more than just rivals for the top news portal spot and advertising dollars, we share a bond as outsiders fighting to make it in the realm of independent news, not indirectly under the thumb of the powers-that-be via proxy of government friendly corporations, or directly held by the grip of political ownership.

And in this spirit of journalistic fraternity, we had shared and endured the long years of politicians’ ire, government pressure, authoritarian banning and censure.

Not to mention outright thuggery, legal suits, hired demonstrators and at times more poignant physical reminders, of the hatred that some bore towards the free press.

To TMI and to all others out there who have fought or is still fighting the good fight from within the mainstream media or without, I would like to borrow once again the words of Dylan Thomas in this paraphrased form.

Our words may have not yet forked lightning, but they have seeded the embers. Our words may not have birthed utopia, but they have planted the seeds.

Our frail deeds might have not have brightly danced in the green bay, but they have skated long across the thin ice, to breed new thoughts, encourage new ideas and made fertile new minds.

Soil ripe for reform and change, if not revolution by all means, ground ripe for democracy, to truly yet flourish once again.

To those that have been forced to lay down their pens and unplug their keyboards, good (wo)men, wise (wo)men, I say do not go gentle into that good night.

We have known perhaps that we shall not see the dawn of light in our own days, that we face a juggernaut too big to dislodge in one lifetime. But our day will come.

If we go, may it be with a bang, and do not go quietly, but kicking and screaming as they pull us off the court and to the bench.

To those still striving to stay in the fight, I say rage, rage against the the dying of the light. For as long as they are those who hold the torch, hope is not yet all dead.

The day will come when all that we stood and fought for will find its endgame, and to that end and goal, I hope that we will all steadfastly remain.

HAZLAN ZAKARIA is a member of Team Malaysiakini .