COMMENT | It is a sad truth that our government is often only shamed by damning international reports, such as the one recently published by The Guardian, detailing the horrific conditions at immigration detention centres.

These conditions are something local media and activists have been trying to call attention to for a long time, and hopefully, other international media will continue and follow up on highlighting this abhorrent issue.

The conditions described in The Guardian seem consistent with - even milder than, perhaps - reports from those who have been working on this issue for a long time, and did not mention sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation that are also likely to take place in these centres.

There are a number of defining characteristics of immigration detention centres that are at the root of why these atrocities happen.

A dumping ground for men, women and children

To begin with, they are in essence treated as a dumping ground.

The people sent here are those the government deems unwanted in Malaysia, deserving of punishment for being here illegally, not worth the cost of sending back to their home country, and having none of the rights Malaysian citizens are technically entitled to.

Perhaps the most important truth about the detainees is that anyone who might care about the fate or well-being of these detainees are too far away and/or too poor and powerless to do anything at all to help their loved ones.

What you get as a result is essentially nothing short of a concentration camp - a place full of people you have been conditioned to resent, and who you are under no pressure, whatsoever, to treat any better than you would a stray dog...