AS I have family and friends in the Blackburn area, I occasionally read the Internet version of your newspaper.

I was doubly disappointed to read that one of Britain's brightest medal prospects, marathon runner Marian Sutton, was unlikely to compete in this year's Commonwealth Games to be held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur because of the 'intense pollution.'

Having lived in Kuala Lumpur for the last 12 months, I hardly recognised the description of "families refusing to let children go outside without respirators." It is true that conditions were poor for a few weeks last October, but not as bad as the 'pea-soupers' that I can recall from childhood days in Lancashire in the 50s.

I and 5,000 others even ran a half marathon race in Malaysia in that same month, without any apparent harm being caused. Action by the Malaysian Government and others seems to have resolved the prime cause of the problem - indiscriminate burning of farmland in neighbouring Indonesia - and we all now look forward to a 'haze-free' Commonwealth Games from September 11-21.

My disappointment about your story was heightened by the fact that I know Marian and have a great respect for her ability, having participated in a week's training camp that she helped to organise for myself and 50 other British 'fun runners' in 1992.

I am particularly sorry that she should be on the receiving end of this misunderstanding about Malaysia. I would be happy to provide Marian and her coach with accommodation if they were able to visit Kuala Lumpur for the pre-Games event being held in July, so that they could discover for themselves not only the haze-free conditions, but also the beauty of the country and the friendliness of the Malaysian people.

GEOFF ANDREW, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.