I have followed the case of Umno making a police report against Raja Petra and his website, 'Malaysia Today', and must say that it is a clear sign that those in power are getting increasingly worried about the way so much of the 'behind the scenes' affairs are being revealed.

I never bothered about 'Malaysia Today' at all but in recent weeks, I have read through many of the articles and I would say they are written in a balanced fashion. They are fascinating and I commend those who have had the courage to share information with Raja Petra. I can imagine these must be people who must be totally frustrated with the way things are going in the government and in political parties. These are true citizens who simply want the Malaysian government to be run ethically and cleanly, and they are seeing that it is actually becoming worse.

The charges that articles in the website 'incite hate between the various races and could affect unity and national security' and that 'the reports contain criminal elements which could incite anyone and cause fear' are rubbish! I am a Chinese Malaysian almost as old as the country and I certainly have not come across anything that would cause me to 'hate' another race and compel me to want to go out on the streets and riot.

I am mature enough to read what is written, consider the points and though, as a non-bumi, I may feel that it is unfortunate that the NEP still exists and prevents every Malaysian from having an equal chance in everything in their own country, I have to accept it.

It is a fact of life here and people like me have learnt to live with it but political parties like Umno are the ones who keep making a big issue out of it. Non-bumi groups may try to ask for consideration and understandably so since it has been three decades, but if the government refuses, what else can we do? As some Umno leaders have suggested, if you don't like it, get out of Malaysia.

As for those 'criminal elements', I think the only thing that is causing me fear is to read about the police going after the 'messenger' or the 'whistleblower' rather than using the time and money to investigate and give a full explanation to the public. It only makes me more suspicious. If allegations are false, prove it rather than just arresting the person who brought it up in the first place. This is the nasty culture in this country, even in the corporate world.

First disprove the allegations in a just manner and then you can go after a person who can then be charged for rumour-mongering or defamation. I thought every Malaysian is innocent until proven guilty, including those who are named, and surely most of us are mature enough to know that. But the party which uses force to suppress the one who makes a revelation is only suggesting that there is something to hide.

If Raja Petra is really thrown into jail, then the government will have to be prepared for the fact that a lot of people will lose respect for it (the government). As it is, the arrest of blogger Nathaniel Tan has been bad and uncalled for (the manner of which reminds me of KGB thugs). It is not to say that 'Malaysia Today' is so influential that it can make enough people change their minds about supporting BN but if it is interfered with, it will make people think more seriously when they go to vote.

I don't mind saying that I have voted for BN all my life though I am not happy with some of its concepts but in the end, I want it to have enough strength in Parliament to be able to push through legislation and enable the country to make progress. This instead of having a weak government that spends more time trying to get enough support to even get funding to build a new highway. We need an opposition party to maintain checks, but we do need at least the governing party to be able to act quickly.

Having said that, I have watched events with interest (and concern) and for the first time in my life, I am thinking I may not vote for BN if certain things occur because it will be the last straw. I can take being a second-class citizen in the country I was born in because I was brought up to work hard for a living and not expect to be state-supported.

I can accept that the national religion is not of mine but if the government cannot prove itself to be transparent and fair and be willing to accept criticism and attempts to bring justice, then it should not be running this country.