Easy explanations exist. In fact, they have existed all the time that calls have been repeated for 'live' parliamentary proceedings have been turned down.

Citing high cost, audience rating and racial sensitivity always seem neat and plausible reasons to some government officials for rejecting the proposal, but the latest ludicrous excuse by Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin beats them all.

He deserves an award unless, of course, he laments that he has been misquoted.

Zainuddin was quoted as saying that Malaysian viewers are not up to the level of their British counterparts and it is not time yet to have 'live' telecasts because Malaysians still have a "third world mentality".

In truth, many Malaysians who have read his remark are of the same opinion that he shares the same fate - that he is also nowhere near the 'class' of his American counterpart.

Perhaps, the fourth American President James Madison (1809-17) could provide some advice to "intellectually bankrupt" politicians. Known as the 'Father of the Constitution' (American), Madison said: "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps, both."

In the case of a 'live' telecast of parliamentary proceedings, promoting accountability and understanding the workings of democracy are crucial elements for effective citizen participation in public affairs and for self-fulfillment.

Resorting to the silly antic that Malaysians are not ready or are immature have made many wonder whether the minister was misinformed.

Or does the root of the problem lie elsewhere? Has the honourable misinformation minister misplaced his reasoning by not putting the blame on the immaturity of some members of Parliament who shout at one another or indulge in name calling? Does the weak justification reflect intellectual reasoning and the truth?

Whatever the flimsy excuses, there is a consensus among mature and intellectual Malaysians that many of our ministers prefer to think in circles so limited by their own arrogance and paternalistic attitude, that they can no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood, or between what is sensible and illogical. So the decision to reject is based on the officialdom's whims rather than on the purest ideals of ethics and integrity.

Intellectual vacuum

Thinking Malaysians would have wondered aloud why the minister is intellectually incapable and if he has failed to see wisdom. Understanding that freedom and equality of access to information (not mere government propaganda based on distortion or 'spin') is the gateway to an effective participatory modern, democratic and civic society.

"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people," said writer George Bernard Shaw.

Malaysians are increasingly aware of freedom and equality of access to information, especially non-classified government-controlled information that is so essential to understanding of national issues and often to the conduct of government business. The reliability, integrity and completeness of information is extremely important to all citizens, especially to voters, who need to assess public policy.

But sadly, as James Fenimore Cooper quipped, "It is besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny."

Books and ideas arbitrary deemed offensive or pernicious are banned. These include books by Kahlil Gibran, Salman Rushdie's award winning 'Midnight's Children' and 'Shalimar the Clown', Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'Memories of My Melanchony Whores', classics such as Anthony Burgess' 'The Malayan Trilogy' and Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'.

Silverfish Books' website listed 109 titles so far that have not been allowed to enter the country this year. This has led to literature lecturer Prof Lim Chee Seng, in an interview with The Sun, questioning the ban.

He said: "In a democracy, you should be training people to be able to deal with these books -that is if they are pernicious, to argue, to resist error and to stand up, and not try to keep the books away as if they (society) are children. A book is a machine to think with."

If our politicians are besieged by 'captive minds', hence suffering an intellectual vacuum, then our dissent is indeed, an act of faith to stop them from stifling our intellectual growth and expansion. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects.

This captive mindset makes our politicians uncreative and incapable of solving problems and devising any analytical method independent of current stereotypes. Completely alienated from major issues of our society, they are incapable of thinking out of the box.

Should we vote for such leaders at the next general election?

As the old Chinese adage goes, 'blame the ground for being hard just because one cannot empty one's bowels'.

This certainly reflects this truth: the currency of a ministry lacking quality of leadership and deductive reasoning. Don't televise openly. Blame Malaysians for a "third class mentality". Blame the tools but not the workman.

Despite the obnoxious behavior of some of our members of Parliament or ugly racism at political assemblies, those involved appear to be 'mature' characters to the information minister.

The maxim of political practice indicates that the more changes Malaysians demand, the more they should be blamed for 'shortcomings'.

The message before the next general election is that Malaysians no longer have to make jokes. Just watch the minister. They laugh best who laugh last.

STANLEY KOH is a Buddhist monk and works for a local think-tank.