I an outraged and saddened at the verdict in Irene Fernandez's trial, as are most of the people I have spoken to. Anyone who has read the eye-witnesses accounts of the inhumanity at the illegal immigrant detention centres would also be so affected.

The stories , which one could read on malaysiakini , but were self-censored in the print press, were truly horrifying.

Is this the new Malaysian culture? Instead of reacting positively to criticism, and saying 'mea culpa' (I am at fault), and getting on with fixing the problem, we seem to be denying that any problem could possibly exist in Malaysia. We have shot the messenger, not addressed the message.

An independent judiciary would have acted somewhat differently to the magistrate, don't you think?