Johnny Chan writes:
March 25 -- As a Malaysian, I am not overly excited by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's latest assurance  in his speech to address various national issues of utmost concern to Malaysians across the political, religious, racial and ethnic divide.

I would prefer to watch whether the new federal government he heads will live up to its words, because more often than not governments renege on their promises, due to one reason or another after being in office.

If, for example, within the next 12 months, nothing or little is done to fight corruption, like removing corrupt officials and politicians (please do not say there is insufficient evidence for visual evidence alone will suffice) and the same system is still in place which cultivates corrupt practices in every nook and corner of the country, then people who have placed faith in his leadership cannot be blamed if they were to say cakap saja, or talk only.

Walk the talk, and show you mean it.

March 24 – I laud the sincere intentions of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to request the government to apologise to the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and the five senior judges and also to set up a transparent Commission in the appointment and promotion of Judges.

I would like to suggest the following actions to be taken immediately:

1. Public APOLOGY to the aggrieved Judges, published in all the newspapers; and also posted on the INTERNET so that the whole world will know the government is sincere in its apology.

Reader JO DUMAS says The Malaysian Insider's pictures speak a thousand words -- about its hidden bias

March 23 -- It is fine that if this publication believes that the atmosphere in New Media has been very biased towards the Opposition, just like the way Old Media is biased towards those in power, that this publication would like to take up the responsibility to show a more balanced view by being more sympathetic towards BN or to open up discussion that is not discussed as much in New Media. But do it so with your intent stated.

Your analysis on the surface looks fair and balanced, and indeed the articles shed light on how much influence does Khairy have and the possible plans of Anwar that genuinely bring to light some talking points that New Media have overlooked.

BUT it is NOT OK to then couple the Khairy articles with pictures of Khairy in his less "ultra" moments -- softly smiling, waving, and hugging -- and then couple Anwar's article about his ambition with the obscenely large picture of him caught in the split-second of squinting to suggest that this squint is "indicative" of his ambitions.

Then you are no longer analysing but subliminally trying to get your readers to "forgive" Khairy while "fearing" Anwar using those pictures.

I'd rather you use generic pictures for all your articles or state without ambiguity that you are sympathetic to one side. Your pictures are actually making a very strong statement to supplement your less direct articles to tip the reader to one side. It is irresponsible to depict Khairy as lamb and Anwar as a wolf when your articles can already hold its own ("mix of fact and fiction"? "He will go for the kill"? "will not settle for second best"?) without these pictures. These pictures just mean that you are malicious in your intent of publishing these articles.

T. K. Tan: Encountered you only last week and have been viewing this everyday. Keep up the good work and the independent view; unlike The Star or NST. Hope you will provide even more items in the very near future.

DAIN SAID: Dear Malaysian Insider, This is the kind of writing and views that made me (and perhaps others like me), having learnt for years to read the news by reading what is left unsaid, what is between the lines, to turn away from the mainstream press and seek my information elsewhere. Namely the internet.

You are a relative newcomer to the scene, so it serves you no great service to come across as being an apologist or to play the less myth-making but more uncritical stance of a supporter of the mystifying "Asian values" nonsense. Please lay off the "nice uncle politics", and give us real opinions and criticality that cuts like a knife, and severs the old language, that plays to those value system that Umno has been peddling to us for years. If not, get another writer or an editor with a position that advertises more than just his/her wages, i.e. one that takes in real politics, lest your readers might mistake the article in question as a directive from an Umno faction to garner support where it could not be gotten, that is from within Umno itself.

Don't worry, I want Pak Lah to stay. That way their energies and resources will be spent squabbling amongst themselves. Hopefully for the next 5 years. History has shown that after a visionary era applied with draconian measures becomes corrupt and is no longer tenable, a new leader almost always needs to match his/her predecessor's vision with another, and usually a "hard act to follow" autocracy, etc, is almost always followed by a, should be obvious by now, call for "reformation".

If we cut through the rhetoric and cliches, we can understand a few things. Though Pak Lah's "people" gave him his vision, they lack the political sophistication, savvy and experience to negotiate the stagnant and dense eddies that form the Umno pool i.e. it's system. The simple fact is, it's not just that he is a nice uncle, but as a leader he is not a particularly imaginative one!