As a Malaysian, I feel really sad for incoming premier and diplomat par excellence Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has a great deal of crisis management to undertake.

Malaysia has in the past received rare reviews which put us in good light and on par with developed nations. But instead of continuing to be wise and vigilant, we have now become foolish, arrogant and rude.

Perhaps, our achievements and the manner they have been played up by a controlled domestic media may be some of the reasons for this new attitude.

This time around we have indeed succeeded in capturing world attention and certainly for all the wrong reasons.

The longest trial in Malaysian court proceedings - the Irene Fernandez trial - had come to an end with no surprises in the judgment .

However, it sent shivers down the spine with a message whistle blowers and others crying for accountability and transparency will not be tolerated.

Thanks to the symbiotic relationship shared between policy circles and the mainstream media, the issue may not be highlighted, but let me go on record to state that, there is widespread international condemnation of the verdict.

On the bilateral and international economic front, we have upset and irritated the governments of India and China again, with whom we have signed a memoranda of understanding or given letters of intent.

India, in particular, facilitated lower taxes and bought our palm oil despite cheaper alternatives, had set up office, sent staff who have worked tirelessly for over two years to prepare various documents, reviews and presentations, interacted with Malaysian officials and the Transport Ministry, to build the North-South double tracking rail project.

The reports carried extensively by local newspapers gave the impression that we do not respect signed international treatise, and that we are an unethical, spineless and shameless breed of people and that domestic political agenda and local companies - not in contention in the initial stage - can still bag internationally floated projects, despite their lack of the needed expertise and technical know how (' M'sia's MMC, Gamuda win rail deal: source ').

What is further disturbing is all the decisions are being made despite knowledge of the existing construction 'fiasco' on the Rawang to Ipoh stretch, with delays and the costs spiraling out of control.

It is rather sad and disgraceful that oligarchic capitalism that is associated clearly with 'money politics' and crony business has run wild for over 22 years and resulted in a compromised, unsettled and undermined Malaysian public policy and economic development.

The irony is that, on the one hand, outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has criticised those who have a "crutch and subsidy mentality". He has bemoaned the fact that 30 years of affirmative action have not equalised the wealth gap, although many dispute this today.

On the other hand, Mahathir has done nothing to stop the doling out of contracts and monopolies worth billions of ringgit to politically well-connected individuals and companies.

Now the incoming Abdullah administration has to deal with the flak that we are receiving for Mahathir's ill-advised comments made at the opening of the Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting.

We must note that the condemnation is also from our friends in the European Union. Abdullah will have to work overtime to manage and contain this to prevent sanctions. Our country's economic stability is still dependent on the goodwill of others who are more powerful than us - a fact that, through illusion and political rhetoric, we tend to easily forget.