There isn't any posting to date, though. However, every citizen can assist in this laudable effort at transparency and accountability by supplying a list of the lies spread by 'certain parties.' In the spirit of public service, I offer one item here.

Word has it that the contractor for the Sungai Selangor Dam has employed a large number of workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh and, according to some people who have visited the construction site, accidents have claimed the lives of at least 23 foreign workers. However, the location of the accidents and the burial sites are unknown.

The deaths are said to have been caused by poor safety precautions and unusual pressure exerted to complete the dam on schedule. Workers at the site say the dangerous conditions leading to the deaths are related to adverse publicity regarding environmental damage and the unpopularity of relocating indigenous people.

The prime minister, in his opening address at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, again reminded the Islamic world of the dangers to traditional culture and values which rampant globalisation represents. Large multinational corporations guided solely by profit lack sensitivity to the deleterious effects their activities have on the people in small countries where they operate.

Our own companies, tempted to emulate the Western style of management, can become callous to human values. The report of these deaths, if found to be accurate, alerts us to corrosive influences already present. It is important, therefore, especially while our Islamic brothers are visiting, to demonstrate our sincerity by exercising a visible vigilance against any possible encroachment that might be regarded as a negative effect of globalisation.

The report must be investigated to avoid alarming the families of the workers. The Indonesian and Bangladesh embassies will naturally have an interest, too. The record of Malaysia's treatment of foreign workers is not a good one, each day revealing new allegations of mistreatment.

The Malaysian media regard abuses of foreign workers as not newsworthy. Therefore a greater responsibility rests with the government to correct these molehill rumours before they are made into a mountain, thus further tarnishing our international image.

Malaysia strives to be a civilised country. Should the report of these deaths prove accurate,measures to protect the workers from unsafe work practices should be put in place immediately. If the report is not investigated, Malaysia will appear to have the wrong priorities, placing development before regard for human life.