I have read all of Dr Lee Wei Ling's columns published in The Straits Times ("Editing is not the same as censorship" by Mr Janadas Devan; yesterday).

I was keen to do so because most of her columns were interesting and offered insights that were new to many of us.

As the daughter of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Dr Lee had the gift of discussing her family interactions in a candid manner.

Her columns also helped us realise that there were many facets to events of yesteryear.

Most of her columns expressed both the positive and negative aspects of real-life incidents, without taking an emotional stance on either side of the issue.

I, too, contribute letters occasionally to The Straits Times Forum page.

Many of my letters, as well as those of other contributors, are edited; they are never censored.

The editors do a good job of bringing to the fore the crux of an issue in a fair and appropriate manner for readers to digest.

If my letters had been censored from the outset, I would not have been interested in contributing.

Most of the time, letters are not published in their original form, given the element of errors, factual and contextual.

Straits Times editors take great pains to edit these letters to make them fit for publication because they feel the public's opinions deserve airing.

V. Balu