Whether a major power or a developing nation, states have had to face up to the shifting role of government in response to the changes brought about by globalization. One of these changes involves the increase in non-formal politics, which takes the form of activism in domestic civil society. Nation states, in general, are currently in the process of (re)defining their roles in the contemporary global milieu as the locus of control over decisions affecting national destinies shifts increasingly away from the state and its institutions. An important part of these changes in traditional power configurations can be seen in the growth and revitalization of independent organs of civil society, as people throughout the world attempt to grapple with the impacts of globalization on their lives (Mittelman 1997). Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), both national and international, are major activists in this context. The present chapter focuses on the Malaysian state's human rights policies and practices in response to increased civil society participation in governance through the venue of non-electoral politics. A central question to be addressed in assessing the Malaysian human rights movement concerns whether, and to what degree, a political culture of participatory democracy may be evolving in the country.

THREE DEBATES ON HUMAN RIGHTS: GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND LOCAL INTERSECTIONS

The presence of the global human rights narratives expressed in the United Nations' (UN) 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in developing nations around the globe, has generated a series of responses from nation-states, as well as from grassroots organizations. Given power relations and the diversity of belief systems and interests within Malaysia, it is no surprise that there is a wide variety of views concerning the applicability of the global human rights discourse to Malaysia.

The literature indicates three major areas of debate in response to the human rights discourse expressed in the UDHR (Bauer and Bell 1999). One of the debates concerns the UN's formulation of the indivisibility of human rights. The basic tenet of the indivisibility argument – held by all the Western nations – is that it is necessary to observe all rights at all times.