Five days ago, I received this email from Mrs Harun Rashid. She said:

"When my late husband wrote his first letter to malaysiakini only days after malaysiakini went online, my son was only a month-old infant. My son is now five years old. So is malaysiakini. I thank you for your friendship and for the opportunity you gave to my late husband to write in malaysiakini. It meant a lot to him.

"And on behalf of my late husband, my son and I, I wish you and the malaysiakini team, happy anniversary and a big bravo. May Allah bless us all. Amen."

This message brought me close to tears. Harun Rashid, one of malaysiakini contributors, died last month at the age of 66.

He began writing letters to the editor but later joined malaysiakini as a columnist. His Worldview column - which lasted four years - will be missed by all of us.

Harun was a passionate and prolific writer. Through his numerous writings - among others, on the shenanigans in the corporate sector, the reformasi movement and political Islam - he had tried to make some sense of our restless and troubled world, and to make it a much better place for everyone.

Now that he is gone, it's now our turn to carry Harun's torch.

Still resolute

Yes, malaysiakini is five years old. That we have survived this far is remarkable.

But we have not only just survived - we have, in little ways, contributed to the much needed reforms in Malaysia.

Indeed, when malaysiakini first went live, some of these reforms were unheard of - such as the need to keep police brutality, corruption and abuse of power in check.

Some of our detractors have derided malaysiakini as being an 'activist' media. If reporting the truth is being 'activist', so be it. We do not apologise for doing our job as journalists and for holding accountable those we have entrusted our future to.

There have been undisguised attempts to discredit us and to suppress our efforts, but we have emerged from these episodes much stronger, wiser, and with our resolution unbroken.

Clearly, we couldn't have done it without you - our subscribers and supporters.

But there is more to be done.

Now that reform is the talk of the town, we must continue to press on to ensure that the powers-that-be walk the talk. Our mission has not changed. The journey which we have embarked on continues.

And it is not just reaching our destination that is important. When we do get there - hopefully in the near future - we should all be able to say, "We have done it together".

Unsung heroes

True, many of us in our struggle to build a new Malaysia - as those before us - will remain nameless and faceless. Our sacrifices will not be recorded. However, through malaysiakini, we shall not be voiceless.

Harun, whose passion for a better Malaysia burned ever bright, once wrote:

'Don't expect your name to last, for thieves abound, and all our past is lit with names of things not done, and many heroes are not sung...

The thoughts that free us from our chains, are put with loving hands for us to share, and when these truths we daily wear, we warm to know a poet that put them there - who, nameless, removed the labels, less they cloy our need to share.'

The poet is indeed mightier than the warrior. We cannot, and must not, fail Harun.