With reference to the allegation that malaysiakini received funds from international financier George Soros through the Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF), well, does it really matter that Soros, or for that matter the Israelis, fund malaysiakini? ([#1]Ex-news editor distorts facts on funding[/#], March 2).

After all, when Malaysia declared war on Israel, the Bumiputra Merchant Bank had as one of its partners the Rothschild Bank which is so well known to have helped in the funding of Israel from long before its founding to the present day! Did that discredit the local bank? No!

The truth of the matter is there is a difference between truth and credibility. With credibility, it is for the reader to weigh what is written and to balance it with counter arguments from other sources and finally decide what to accept and what to reject. With truth, there is no such thing as half truths. There is truth and there are lies.

The principals of malaysiakini are known individuals and not phantoms as many voters who vote in Barisan Nasional MPs and state assembly representatives are. They have a known address and place of work. In the highly litigious society that we live in today it would be foolhardy to publish, in your name, facts, views and opinions that can be used against you.

It has been over 14 months now. Malaysiakini has yet to be sued and pulled in for questioning. Does that mean all that have been named for their misdeeds concede to the truth of what is written? That is the test by which any critic should assess the situation.

Maybe malaysiakini ought to carry a poll to see if it matters to its readers as to who the funders really are. Most likely we'd all say, who cares!