Goodbye, Mr. Guna

It was just last week I saluted Mr. P Gunasegaram, the executive editor of the Edge Weekly over his column '10 steps to a freer and fairer elections'. Actually I wanted to end my post with 'I hope what he has written wouldn't cost him his job' or something to that effect.

Now I've just read his latest and final column 'Some election thoughts .....and goodbye' in the latest issue of the Edge written before the GE2008. Was he pressured to resign? All he has to say was 'After years of writing commentaries, I have been the opportunity, if you will, of doing something different, albeit in a modest - putting my money where my money is so to speak.'

O course, I don't expect him to reveal much. He may not have even been told to resign directly. Any journalist worth his/her salt and is true to his/her calling will resign if pressure is exerted on what you can or cannot write.

I also suspect his last column was not meant to see the light of day. He may have alluded to this by writing 'I owe a debt of gratitude to our editor-in-chief Ho Kay Tat, who consented to this column and I am sure took a lot of flak for some of the comments made here, often without even my knowledge'

After criticizing the EC for its last minute decision on the use of indelible ink, he predicted that the BN will retain its 2/3 majoirity and the most Kelantan would remain with PAS. I'm sure he is glad to have been proven wrong. Too bad we don't get to read how glad he was to have been proven wrong.

All the best Mr. Guna. All these years I've enjoyed reading your columns.