In a recent report , AFP cited the existence of a "new political style" in Malaysia. It said that with new premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, "signs have begun to emerge of a fundamental shift in how the government does business".

The PM's decision to temporarily shelve a multi-billion dollar rail construction deal and his "refusal to rubber-stamp" ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's choice of Najib Razak as deputy PM, were the basis of the agency's observation. AFP added that the move on the rail construction deal was a possible signal of two changes: an end to the mega-projects favoured by Mahathir, and the beginning of more transparency in how major contracts are awarded.

Far from these being an indication of a change in political style, the two decisions are only politically expedient moves. Pak Lah is merely deferring the decision. It's the easiest and safest move for now. He has a general election ahead of him. He is playing for time.

Pak Lah will be committing political suicide if he were to continue Mahathir's megalomanic ways, especially when the country's coffers do not have very much to cough up anymore a huge chunk will be swallowed up by the high maintenance costs of Dr M's mega projects.

The PM has said that he would prefer to give priority to projects involving healthcare, education and agriculture. It was very much the same thing that Dr Mahathir said when he first became PM.

So what's new? Since he took over, Pak Lah has crowed continually about cracking down on corruption. He has so far only dished out the same verbiage of his predecessor, who, after 22 years and a few tearful moments, has left this country far from ' bersih '.

The battle against crooks continues to be a clich, mere claptrap and a cheap charade made laughable by the occasional arrests of an ikan bilis or two. If Mr Clean is really serious about containing and crippling the virus of corruption, he has to stop the charade. He would have to act against big sharks who have been 'certified' corrupt by the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Attorney-General's Chambers, and those behind the Perwaja scandal.

The fact that a logging company had to go to extent of threatening to reveal more about its botched deal with Umno Pahang over a controversial multi-million logging concession - to force relevant authorities out of their inertia - reduces Pak Lah's big anti-corruption campaign to nothing but a big hoo-ha.

That very little has changed is also indicated in the contradictions made by the government itself. Pak Lah keeps on saying that his government's top priority will be to fight corruption, and yet Chief Secretary to the government Samsudin Osman declared that corruption is "not a serious problem".

Nothing has also changed with regard to how whistleblowers are treated in this country. Labour activist Irene Fernandez, for example, was prosecuted and received a one-year jail sentence for exposing the inhumane treatment and the death of foreign workers in detention camps.

The government of Pak Lah terminated the services of former KL Fire and Rescue Services Department deputy chief Mohd Ali Tambi Chik. He was forced into early retirement for having blown the whistle on his superior, director-general Jaafar Sidek Tambi (who has been cleared of wrongdoing).

Mohd Ali's comments in malaysiakini captures the true sentiments of the general public: "As far as I am concerned, this is one big joke. You do something good for the country (in exposing corruption)...but eventually end up like thisSo, what is the new prime minister going to do about all this?"

Pak Lah's spot-checks on government departments, which has received a lot of media coverage, is reminiscent of what Dr M did in the early years of his premiership when he promised a cekap and amanah government. Will Pak Lah's surprise visits be also a flash in the pan?

Pak Lah's appointment of a new Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and his decision to continue to hold the portfolio of Home Minister has not resulted in anything new in the way the Royal Malaysian Police carries out it duties.

The high incidence of custodial deathscontinues to rise - the latest victim being a 22-year old man, whose sister witnessed the police assault. The police continue to be where they should not be, and are not present where they should be.

At a two-day meeting in KL, to discuss the future of Aceh, police even demanded to participate in the meeting, and to review the list of participants present. The organisers turned down the request. Recently, PAS MP Husam Musa complained of high-handedness of the police when they gatecrashed a Hari Raya gathering organised by a PAS division in Shah Alam.

The PM has pledged to uphold democracy but there has been no fundamental changes in government policy with regard to democracy and human rights, especially on matters pertaining to the Internal Security Act ( ISA).

Just before Hari Raya, the government released 19 ISA detainees. Whilst commending Pak Lah for the decision, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang urged the PM to ensure that the release of the detainees was not just "tokenism" of his new appointment but reflective of genuine change in outlook.

Not long after that, the government decided to extend the detention order of four alleged militants linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and five students to another two more years under ISA, without any concrete evidence that they remained a security threat. It was proof enough that nothing has changed.

Like his predecessor, Pak Lah and his government continue to treat the recommendations and statements of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) very lightly. That the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak could even deny Suhakam a visit to the group of students recently detained under ISA - in spite of the group having complied with all legal procedures - is evidence of the growing ignorance and arrogance of the authorities.

Nothing has changed in the judiciary since Pak Lah took over as PM. Senior lawyer and former UN Rapporteur on the Independent of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumaraswamy was right when he told malaysiakini in October this year: "Malaysians should not expect any major overhaul of the judicial system when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi becomes prime ministerit would take more than a change in leadership to 'improve' the standard of judicial independence."

The truth is, if there is to be an actual "fundamental shift in how the government does business", Pak Lah has to prove that he really means business.

The AFP report said that the so-called "new political style" is evidence that "Mahathir, who ruled for 22 years, is not pulling the strings from behind the scenes as some critics had suggested he would".

Once again, contrary to what AFP suggests, there has been no change since Pak Lah took over. The appointment of Dr Mahathir as the adviser of national oil company Petronas paves the way for Mahathir to rule the country by proxy.

It would not be surprising if Dr Mahathir is also appointed the adviser to the EPF, and why not, even Bank Negara. Surely, he who holds the purse strings of the country will get to pull the strings.