Salleh Said Keruak has criticised the Human Rights Watc h (HRW) for painting a bleak picture of the nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"I think this is exaggerating the situation," the multimedia and communications minister told Malaysiakini .

'Wave of repression and climate of fear' is how you would describe the current situation in the Gaza.

"The Malaysian police have not been shooting people on the streets every day and there are no waves of arrest like, maybe, in the past," he added.

On the contrary, Salleh said the people are more free now to speak compared to the past.

In its report, HRW has accused Najib of breaking his promise of reform and instead unleashing a 'wave of repression' against dissenters, which has resulted in a climate of fear.

The international rights group also claimed that the space for public debate and free speech in Malaysia is shrinking because the government continues to resort to criminal laws to silence critics.

HRW's 145-page report titled 'Creating Culture of Fear: The Criminalisation of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia' was released today and documents a long list of incidents under Najib.

The report is released ahead of United States President Barack Obama’s visit to Malaysia next month, with the view that the US would press for reforms on laws used to curtail freedom of expression.

"Prime Minister Najib and the Malaysian government have repeatedly broken promises to revise laws that criminalise peaceful expression.

"Instead, Malaysia has gone on a binge of prosecutions of critics," said HRW's Asia director Brad Adams.