Congratulations to malaysiakini for inking "a RM1.3 million deal with the Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF), a RM80-million international venture fund which has offices in New York, Prague and Hong Kong".

I am also glad to hear that MDLF has agreed to the condition of investment "that the website's editorial policy will remain in the hands of journalists" so that malaysiakini can continue pursuing its "independent and non-partisan" mission of engaging on "issues such as press freedom, human rights, good governance, anti-corruption, independence of the judiciary and democracy."

Foremost in the readers' mind are several concerns.

One of the concerns is that when MDLF, a foreigner, acquires a 29 percent equity stake, making it probably the single largest shareholder, whether the remaining 71 percent Malaysian equity interests are cohesive or fragmented, thereby giving the foreigner's sufficient and overriding voting power and clout at both the board of directors and shareholders' level to veer away in due course from malaysiakini's professed mission.

Foremost in readers' minds is whether the fact that a foreigner has substantial equity stake will provide the Malaysian government's the requisite ammunition to undermine malaysiakini's hard won credibility of independence, and say that you cannot advance Malaysian interests with a foreigner's agenda.

For it will be asked what is MDLF's agenda in this investment? Its professed aim is to assist independent news organisations working in difficult economic and political climates by providing them with low-interest loans and other forms of financing, complemented with training and other technical assistance. This sounds more political in tone than commercial.

(In the face of an assault by the Malaysian government along these lines, your only defence is to use MCA president's ingenuous argument that Huaren's acquisition of Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press did not mean that editorial policy will be affected by MCA's political agenda). But is it plausible?

I will be glad if you could address these key issues raised for your readers' benefit so that they may know whether their continued support will be run into the obstacles above mentioned.

I empathise with malaysiakini on the shoestring budget by which you operate and your need for additional funds. But wouldn't it be better had the investor been a local venture fund?

Editor's note: You have indeed raised a number of pertinent issues the very same issues which all of us in malaysiakini have been mulling over for the past one year.

To answer your last question first, will a local venture fund be better? Yes, if this will stop the government from portraying malaysiakini as being 'controlled' by foreigners. No, if the local venture fund has problems with our editorial policies relating to the government-of-the-day (just as some of our advertisers decided to pull their ads out from malaysiakini as a result of political pressure and there have been quite a few).

Malaysiakini requires all our potential investors to sign an agreement that they "shall not interfere in the editorial policy" and that they agree with malaysiakini's policies of adhering to "the principles of a free, independent and responsible press, and exercise fact-based, honest, unbiased, fair, non-partisan, investigative and responsible journalism, independent from the influence of the government or of any other interest group."

MDLF has willingly agreed to ink that contract. If there are other potential investors whether local or foreign they will be required to do the same.

True, MDLF's mission is to support independent media, be it in Angola, Guatemala, Bosnia or Bangladesh. The profits they made from these investments will be reinvested to help other independent media. One of the reasons why MDLF is investing in malaysiakini is because some of our technological solutions can be used to help other Third World independent media.

We don't think anyone has problem with that. We wish that there are more investors like MDLF.

As for your concerns regarding MDLF's 29 percent equity, let me assure you that the other 71 percent is currently being held by the founders and staff of malaysiakini. In addition, MDLF has decided not to sit on the board of directors.

Again, all these are not iron-clad guarantees, but the malaysiakini staff would be first to quit should there be any hint of editorial interference from our investors.

As for attacks from the government, yes, we expect that to come and we will continue to fight it as we have done over the past two years. Ultimately, our readers are the ones who will decide whether they want malaysiakini to prosper.

It will be our loyal readers like you who can ensure our editorial independence by subscribing to malaysiakini. The investment is merely providing us a lifeline while we get our readers to sign up. Indeed, this is the only real guarantee against editorial interference from investors.