Whilst the prime minister is appealing to all to respond to him via e-mail to see what can be done for the betterment of this country, the King, after officiating the current session of Parliament, does not seem amused or supportive of the freedom to voice out opinions via the Internet which the new generation of voters seem to cherish.

One would say that the current prime minister's legacy is to free the Malaysian mind and for that we have to be thankful to the man. He has succeeded where no other prime minister has in making inroads into the freedom to Internet.

He has allowed voices to be heard and opinions to be put forth via the Net for the purposes of opening up the minds of Malaysians so that we are better able to understand ourselves as we evolve to become a Malaysian race.

Whilst we cherish this newfound freedom which we will not give up, we would also have to contend as to how low our politics has come to with regards to the gross violation of privacy of Elizabeth Wong, Selangor state exco member and PKR assemblyperson for Bukit Lanjan.

We have come to a point in Malaysian politics where it is not even safe anymore for a woman politician to be within the confines of her own home as some voyeur cameraman may be lurking around to catch you when you least expect it.

Have we descended to such low levels that taking photographs of one’s private moments is all that we can muster in our quest to debate and uphold rights and good governance?

We don't have privacy laws in this country and therefore are we all victims to these voyeurs. Such photos are the best ‘ammunition’ which could be used against us when we reach a stage in life which others envy. We must start fighting this new method which is being used to derail politicians who have been doing a good job regardless of where their political allegiances lie.

The issue here is not the condoning sexual impropriety but the freedom to be within the confines of one’s own home and to sleep in one’s bed as comfortable as one would like it to be.

There are many women who suffer silently and who have indirectly been victims of such tactics which are usually employed by boyfriends and lovers to extract money and other favours from them. Modern technology has now made it easier for the woman to become a victim.

But these kind of cheap and dirty tactics should not be used scare young and able women from entering the ring of Malaysian politics. Women have fought hard to be recognised and they should not be intimidated by such acts which is only intended to distract them from their main pursuit which they may be doing very well in.

One would note that even when the US Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was introduced, reports of her nude photos being circulated on the Internet had been rumoured but that did not stop her from taking on the challenge that the Republican party had entrusted her with.

Similarly, Malaysian women must get up and fight this form of discrimination whether they are victims or not as such cheap shots at their character must not be condoned. Further, in Wong’s case, this was a photo which was taken whilst one was asleep, which is a violation of one’s rights of the highest order.

What happens when ones bathes? Has she got to wear clothes when she bathes? Malaysian women should not allow such cheap tactics to be used by the still very archaic, stereotyped and male-dominated political landscape to scare them off of their quest to partake and lead in Malaysian politics.

If there is unity amongst the women, this matter can be faced head on. Women are bringing change to politics and leadership in the country. We had a woman who was the opposition leader when Parliament convened after the March elections in 2008 and similarly we have many who hold high positions in the government as well as in the private sector.

Most of these women have proven themselves very capable in their given tasks. Therefore, attempts to outrage their modesty as a form of reminding them that they a still very much seen as sexual objects in the male mind must be fought head-on.

Elizabeth Wong must fight on despite this setback. She could not be bought over like some in Perak and therefore her enemies choose to shame her this way but she has to come out fighting in this battle against gender discrimination and stereotyping in Malaysian politics.