With reference to reports from the general mainstream media, the All Women's Action Society (Awam) wishes to express its concern over the media coverage of the woman in the video clip during the hearing. While the commission is formulating its verdict, Awam is of the opinion that there is also a need to review the way the media performed during the duration of its inquiry. Much has been made of how the media has got her nationality wrong , but relatively little has been said over how the media feeds into the public's desire for sensation.

The reported "disappointment" of the members of the public and the press "who had flocked to the Sultan Abdul Samad building hoping for a glimpse of the 'star witness'" ( The Star , 'Nude woman in ear squats video clip is a local Malay', Dec 14) is a sharp reminder of the hunger for voyeuristic thrills so endemic in our society. From the often-seen scenes of motorists slowing down to gawk at traffic accidents to the reporting of the Canny Ong and the Norita Samsuddin trials, it would often seem that we are little better than vultures.

The woman has already been subjected to a gross violation of her privacy and the media and the public should not further worsen that violation. We should be concerned about the issues raised by the case, not obsessed with trying to catch a glimpse of the woman and trying to work out her identity. Nor should we be fixated on her race or nationality whatever race or nationality she is, the woman in the video is a human being and deserves to be treated with dignity.

Criticisms of the media handling of this and other cases should not be taken as support for the rolling back of press freedom. On the contrary: it is because we hold the freedom of speech in such high regard that we think the media should be a platform for more than lurid sensationalism. While society must take a hard look at itself over whether it has succeeded in looking beyond mere curiosity, the media also has a responsibility to help society develop for the better.

The writer is president of the All Women's Action Society (Awam).