Congratulations Jeffrey on your rebuttal of Harun Rashid's 'The irrational terrorist and the petty tyrant', (Sept 29). I think we all have or had a "petty tyrant" in our lifetime - our dad. Just because we were caned or spanked or grounded or not given pocket money and sometimes without clear evidence, never in our lifetime we say that our father is a threat to our adulthood.

Let face it, without the "petty tyrant" that we call our father we will not grow up to be as successful as we are right now.

Similarly here without the "petty tyrant" whom Harun Rashid said to be the unpopular Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia will not be as successful as we are.

Those trailing noises are not keys to cells that hold the innocence and the brave but it is a clear reminder that hard choices have to be taken for the safety of the whole country. They may be brave but surely not innocent as they have broken the laws of the country which they supported when they were in the government.

The law may not be fair but it applies equally to all citizens. The civilisation as we know right now has placed on the citizens to decide through the electoral system. So let us use that system and not otherwise for our own bidding.