It is truly a pain and an embarrassment for Malaysians overseas to call themselves Malaysians in the last few days.

I work in the United States and have felt like hiding myself under a huge rock from my colleagues after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar had shamelessly demanded an apology from the Philippines government because the minor who was allegedly raped by our police under their custody had turned out not to be a Filipina but a Malaysian.

How despicably low have our leaders sunk when they are more interested in saving their face and playing their self-serving political game while losing sight of common human decencies.

Does a girl's colour, creed or citizenship matter when she was allegedly raped by our police while under their custody? Isn't it enough for adults that since such a charge actually came from a minor, they should stop playing any imbecilic political games with it?

Is there not an issue with the authorities deporting people without properly making sure they are not Malaysians? Don't they have a responsibility to get to the bottom of things first before resorting to detention and deportation when they were confronted with a 13-year-old who could not show the proper papers?

And as though all that wasn't low enough, we also have a Home Ministry parliamentary secretary Abu Zahar Isnin insinuating in Parliament that the 13-year-old had 'seduced' the police into raping her.

The Barisan Nasional leadership must really think Malaysians are dumb or have lost sight of our common human decencies like they have. It is truly the height of their ignorance and inhumanity borne of their authoritarianism.

The prime minister, foreign minister, and home minister spokesperson should apologise to all Malaysians — for what they have said is nothing short of tarnishing the good name of the country and making Malaysians living overseas like me the butt of jokes, if not worse.