Malaysia’s image took another beating last week when in its World Report 2010, the Human Rights Watch condemned the country for there being more rhetoric coming out of Malaysia than actual protection of human rights.

Typically, a senior cabinet minister dismissed the report as more a perception issue than reality on the ground. It’s closer to reality than you think, dear minister.

The Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act are but a few of the draconian laws that still threaten the sanctity of fundamental human rights in the country.

These two legalised documents must be some of the most used forms of threats to suppress dissent, to keep the people in silence and to keep insecure politicians up high in authority. The country appears so devoid of just laws to bring crooks and actual criminals to justice.

Any hope for the government’s planned new economic model to succeed will be in vain as long as our politicians do not do justice to the country and its people.

Malaysia will never realise her potential and perform at an optimum economic level if the people cannot see the internal “diseases” and the symptoms inflicting the country for what they are.

People holding what are as harmless as candlelight vigils are still threatened with imprisonment. That is no perception issue.

People are still treated with disdain, contempt and their intelligence insulted almost every day. That is no perception issue.

Even freedom to information is being curtailed — public and private sector agreements in the likes of toll concessions are still kept in the dark, details of which are not known to the people. It’s a dark, dark secret. That is no perception issue.

It’s a wonder that blogs, instant messengers, the Internet, broadband, or even handphones have not been banned.

That will do — on grounds that it will be good for people to have more face-to-face interactions with one another.

Some of the most patronising words continue to come out of politicians’ mouths each and every day as if we still live in some medieval era; here to serve means “we know better, listen to us and you will be better off”. The people are too stupid to make up their own minds, anyway.

At times, reading the news is like listening to religious sermons.

How often have we heard politicians telling us that we must live up to our own beliefs and culture? Presumably, our belief systems do not believe in fundamental rights. Or pray tell, do politicians live up to a different set of beliefs and culture?

If former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is to be listened to, Malaysia should have nothing to do with the West and the developed world.

Yes, some Westerners are bigots and highly patronising, but why do we have to be like them?
Some of our politicians are no better than them, if not worse; what’s worse is that they are doing it to our own people. Why shouldn’t we be better? Why shouldn’t we break out of our “medieval” and feudalistic trap and believe in a greater good.

It seems pointless to compare ourselves to other nations, until and unless we carry out structural reforms, open up democratic space and start upholding universal principles. Then and only then can we truly and effectively tell off foreigners for their bigotry and unjust might.

Amid the current weakness in equity, some punters who had missed the rally from its bottom in March last year must be anxiously waiting to pounce on the opportunity, and may be even hoping for a higher degree of correction to come.

They can be forgiven for wanting some more temporary market calamities, but one could never wish for a whole country to regress or collapse for however short a time period.

To avoid that, can Malaysia ever have an epochal period whereby her politicians do not care much about their careers but the long-term prospects of the country? That is no perception issue.