With reference to Sharaad Kuttan's letter 'The perils of anonymity' (June 7), I think malaysiakini's policy as it stands now on letter-writers' identity serves us well. In this neo-authoritarian country, the allowance of anonymity encourages ordinary people to speak up.

In reality, there are many honest people who want to speak up for public interests but they are also burdened by the fears of being detained, of losing jobs and jeopardising the well-being of their family.

While political leaders and NGO activists are commendable for openly standing up to fight against injustices, normal and ordinary folks have other real-life considerations and constraints which we must respect and empathise. They should not be denied the opportunity to speak up.

Of course, I would agree that the allowance of pseudonyms should not be misused to concoct stories. Anonymous letters which purport to contain factual revelations should be verified by the editors.

However, if the contents of the letters are mere expressions of opinions based on publicly-known facts, then, I think it is permissible. In fact, in all mainstream newspapers, pseudonyms are allowed. So, it would be more valorous of the writer to also question the accepted and conventional practices of all the print dailies. See if your comment would be published by them.