Before you envisage grand schemes to change the government, you need to change yourself.

The Asian concept of face is difficult to shake off. You do not want to be seen as a troublemaker, or a voice of dissent. You seek people’s acceptance. You may be one of the nation’s most vocal critics, but only in the privacy of your own home, or in the coffee-shop.

Unfortunately, the nation’s leaders mistake your silence for approval. Your silence emboldens them and their supporters. The confidence of the leaders, whom you blame for corruption, injustice and abuse of power, grows, while you become more disgruntled. Why blame the government? You had a hand in their ‘success’.