In the final week of June, two different forums on democracy were held in Warsaw, Poland. The first, World Forum on Democracy (WFD), involved the participation of international non-governmental organisations, leading thinkers and world leaders from 85 countries while the second - Communities of Democracies Ministerial Meeting - involved foreign ministers from democratic countries and democracies in transition.

The WFD was sponsored by Freedom House, a US human rights group and the Stephen Batory Foundation, a Polish pro-freedom group while the ministerial meet was convened by Poland, the US, Mali, South Korea, India, Chile and the Czech Republic and was attended by foreign ministers from more than 100 countries.

What is interesting is that Malaysia had no official participation at the ministerial forum. However, at the WFD, Malaysia was represented by KeADILan (National Justice Party) leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was a panelist in the discussion on "Culture and Democracy".

At the end of the forum, the participants engaged in joint activities with the foreign ministers meeting, including a plenary session at which the ministers received the recommendations of the WFD. The NGOs believe such a cooperation will endorse a far-reaching appeal for a global alliance of democratic states.

One man behind the forum, Mark Palmer, a former US ambassador to Hungary and a senior adviser to former US President Reagan said the plan was to "eliminate all dictatorships in the world by 2025".

WFD called on the ministerial meeting to endorse and establish a "caucus of democracies at the United Nations" and to establish " rigorous standards for membership based on the criteria of free elections, freedom of expression, and freedom of association."

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her address to the WFD stated that a closer cooperation between NGOs and governments will "lift the lives of people everywhere."

She was correct in stating that to overcome the strains of globalising economy, a true democratic community was needed and this community must be enriched by leaders from every corner of the earth, with a strong participation of the civil society.

This is where the NGOs play a pivotal role. They must deserve a more prominent voice in strategies for democratic development. The ministerial conference also addressed the important role played by NGOs and other international institutions in supporting democratic growth.

The foreign ministers agreed to uphold democratic principles where the will of the people is the basis of the government's authority; to uphold the right of every person to freedom of opinion and of expression; the right of the press to collect, report and disseminate information, news and opinions; the right of every person to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention; to be free from torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment; and to receive due process of law.

The ministers also agreed that the elected leaders should uphold the law and function strictly in accordance with the constitution of the country concerned and procedures established by law.

Importantly, the ministers agreed that to achieve this, a closer working relationship should be held with NGOs and other international organisations.

This leads us to an important point which was raised by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last Sunday when he said Umno must be close to NGOs to know their feedback and responses on implementation of government policies.

While it is a good start to say that the government is finally encouraging a closer cooperation with the NGOs, it would have been better if Abdullah had not confined his call for the closer coordination with NGOs to Umno alone.

What is needed is a closer relationship between the government and the NGOs. Maybe the government should have had a representative at the ministerial conference to fully understand the roles played by NGOs in developing democracy in a country.

If more than 100 nations agree that the way forward for a stronger democracy is via closer cooperation with all other parties who have a say in how such a democracy could be achieved, we cannot and should not stand alone.

It is in this respect, Abdullah's statement may spell the beginning of something new for Malaysians.

K Kabilan is a member of the malaysiakini team.