Around the middle of last year the federal government proposed a petrol rebate of RM126 for cars 1,000cc and below and RM54 for motorcycles 250cc and below to lessen the burden suffered by the poor and the low-income group due to the so-called 'subsidy rationalisation' aka. price-hikes.

More recently, due to the ever-rising cost of basic necessities and foodstuffs, Food Stamps have been touted as a way to help lessen the people's burden.

These proposals seem to have been put on the back-burner with the usual accompanying statements from the government such as “we will conduct a feasibility study ...” or “we will set up a committee to first study ...” and so on and so forth.

It is anybody's guess whether these ideas will come into fruition but one thing for sure is that the government can always rely on the public's less than elephantine memory as a convenient means of escaping their responsibilities.

Although the opposition can remind the government of these proposals, they can only do so much because without public pressure the government will act deaf and dumb. In Malaysian street lingo it is simply known as 'buat bodoh' (play dumb).

Further to that, since 2005, the government has vowed to improve the public transport but till today, it is still in disarray.  The Rapid bus service does not live up to its name while the commuter trains are always delayed.

These issues of the present government's inefficiency and empty promises are not to be taken lightly. It is amazing that they continue to be voted in time and time again. Or is their victory attributed to election fraud?  

If it is the former, then Malaysians must be the most saintly voters in the world for continuing to put up with the present government but if it is the latter, then it is time that the public speak out vociferously against the hanky-panky that is perpetuated by the Election Commission courtesy of instructions from the federal government itself.

This sorry state of affairs must end right now or else Malaysia will be left behind by our neighbours in the South-East Asian region.

The writer is DAP member for Segambut branch.