Please try to put an end to the meaningless and utterly irrelevant debates which has been going on in your publication for days now, on whether Dr Patricia Martinez had the obligation to disclose her qualifications in precise terms, and to what extent ('No excuse for impreciseness', Jan 8).

I hope your publication has not degenerated into some sort of Internet chat room, where the focus of discussion is centered on one particular person or any other insignificant debates like that even though Martinez has been one of the most insightful contributors whose works have been published by your publication and has no relevance whatsoever to the country's problems.

After a giving a chance for both Martinez to respond, and allowing people to comment for one more day or so, any further letters should have been relegated to the back, if not totally rejected. The crucial matter is whether Martinez's writings manage to persuade your readers, not what kind of PhD she has.

I believe even a person without a higher education qualification could contribute meaningfully to the discussions on any of the problems faced by the nation. As long as she has something meaningful to say, who cares if she has or has not a PhD, or 10 PhDs; in Islam, aerospace engineering, or 11th century Sulawesi information technology policies? Since when have we become so elitist as to find it necessary to micro-scrutinise a person's precise qualifications? For the record, I even failed my Primary 6 UPSR, so it is up to you whether you find my criticisms convincing.

Is this simply a reflection of the sad state of affairs that you are in, where there is no longer any quality contributors who would bother to write to your publication? Please stop this nonsense even if it means that you need to leave your letters column blank. That quality control, not blindly filling in the blanks of your publication is what you need to maintain the respect and reputation for your publication.