Every day I look forward to reading the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section in Malaysiakini . It gives me hope to see that there are indeed people who realise what is happening, who feel the need to speak their minds (regardless of which side of the fence they may be on) and who are not brainwashed by the government-controlled mass media.

The fact remains though that the vast majority of Malaysians read their respective vernacular newspapers. Their opinions are invariably formed based on what is communicated to them by chief editors who are under the thumb of the Information Ministry. I distinctly remember the editor of a Malay daily supporting the coup in Fiji, when George Speight overthrew the democratically-elected Mahendra Chaudhry government, saying that coups and armed struggle was what awaited Malaysia if the non-Malays ever gained political power.

I praise Malaysiakini for printing letters from both sides of the fence unlike our mainstream press. However, I do fear that the majority of contributors to websites like Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today are essentially preaching to the converted. The Malay version of Malaysiakini’s ‘Letters to the Editor’ section is a great start but even there it is obvious that most its contributors are Malay. I doubt many non-Malays bother to venture to the other side with the few mouse clicks.

When reading both sections, it is obvious that some opinions don’t seem to make it to the other side. A quick scan of the content will show you that. How many Malay letters have spoken against Umno’s use of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ to scare the other races into submission? How many English letters have expressed the need for Malaysia to be a ‘modern and dynamic Islamic country like Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen’?

I fear a line is being drawn in the sand with a linguistic divide that is inevitably also racial and religious. It is not Malaysiakini’s duty to censor these opinions as that would only make them as bad as the mainstream press. Readers of Malaysiakini’s English section should take an extra 10 minutes to read the Malay section and vice versa.

As I type this out in English, it is almost hypocritical of me not typing a Malay translation. Despite being a member of my school’s Malay debate team, my command of the language has deteriorated due to disuse from working overseas. Someone else please feel free to do so.

Editor’s note: The English section of Malaysiakini’s letters to the editor contains contributions written in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.