Because there has been some 'curiosity', let me make it plain: I don't need permission from the Saudis, Abu Dhabi or anybody else to write what I want to write.
Arab regimes have appalling low tolerance levels. I often cite the case of one of Malaysia's most influential editors, Abdullah Ahmad, to explain this point. His career was ruined after an article he wrote in the New Straits Times on 12 November 2003. I've just reread that article in his book "On the Record". What followed the publication of that opinion piece is an example of how Arab regimes go about curbing freedom of expression beyond their borders. And they do it in a sly, determined and destructive way.
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