Much can be said about the political events that fueled the year 2007. Much less is being done about it.

The recent killing of Pakistan's opposition leader Bhutto has captured the attention of the international mass media. Pakistan was depicted as an example of state governance that is clouded with perceptions of foul play. A kind of governance seen as working harder to instill fear among its people, rather than trust. A governance that at best undermines democracy, and at worst, is guiltless about the human rights violations it commits. To date, the Pakistani government has been unable to provide answers that are acceptable or believable to the many supporters of Bhutto. It fails to appease a people who are angry and who are mourning her death. Instead, Pakistani citizens who insist on holding their government accountable for the assassination of Bhutto, are met with tear gas, arrests, threats, and death. For now, the media is watching.

This year also saw nonviolent protests lead by Buddhist monks against a military regime. For the first time, the outside world saw in realtime the violent atrocities being committed against peaceful marchers in the streets of Rangoon. Media headlines reported and visually captured the brutal response of the repressive junta - that has ruled Burma for 45 years - to the thousands of peaceful demonstrators. Time magasine said “the world is watching.” Are we? To what avail the intense international media coverage has for the people of Burma is yet to be seen. And as the military silenced the protesters, the media gradually ceased keeping a close watch on the regime. The news was over. And most of media has moved on to cover the next repressive government.

State repression can also be used to describe the Malaysian government. Although not as popularly publicised by international mass media, the ways in which democracy is undermined and human rights violations committed by the Malaysian government, is equally worrisome. The fact it is not covered by media makes it more worrisome.

Malaysia recently hosted the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference, more commonly referred to as the GK3. Hundreds of civil society groups gathered at this international event early December 2007 to discuss a range of development issues, focusing on the role ICTs played or in some instances, did not play in development. Ironically, while Malaysia's garden city, Kuala Lumpur, played host to the GK3, its local citizens were being arrested for holding demonstrations and expressing their political opinions. The political messages of these groups were apparently not the issue, after all, who can argue with calls for clean and fair elections, or a stop to ethnic cleansing. According to the local media, it was the means by which these issues were being raised. The Malaysian government clearly states that public demonstrations are not a part of the Malay culture and will never be. To ensure this, the Malaysian government uses its Internal Security Act (ISA) to arrest citizens they perceive as committing acts of sedition.

The year 2007, cited by CNN as the deadliest for journalists, has shown that the exercise of democracy, assertion of citizenship, and the right to freedom of expression, are not givens. They cannot be taken for granted as the principles that guide our national and international leaders. Yet we report about such violations against democracy and human rights as if they were exceptions to the rule. But are they not the rule?