During his first 100 days, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made numerous promises and so-called initiatives. Even the foreign media is praising this new man in charge. But apart from words and rhetoric, has there been any real aksi (action)?

Off hand, one may point to his deferment of the double-tracking rail contract and of late the setting up of the royal commission: 'Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia(n) Police' (SCEOMRMP).

The latter will only show any results in February 2005, even then the SCEOMRMP recommendations are not necessarily going to be implemented, see what has happened to the various recommendations made by another commission, Suhakam; apart from gathering dust somewhere, little else has resulted.

The new PM has to make waves as he needs to win big in the 11th general election before he can become the helmsman in his own right. What better way then to make plenty of promises before the next election and call them his Agenda for a New Malaysia and get the voters to vote him and the BN in once again, preferably with more than a two-third majority.

This appears to be a very likely scenario based on what Malaysian voters have done in the past, the present feel good factors abounding, the feeling that the new man should be given a chance to prove himself and the mammoth BN election machinery and all the 'goodies' which will definitely be provided in this pre-election period.

Examples can even be seen these days: RM4 million for Chinese school relocation, MCA explaining the importance of Chinese education to Umno (what was the MCA doing these past 50 years or so), eventually we are gonna get those free bicycles, ploughs, land titles which have been denied for the past many years and the list of goodies continue.

A more transparent way (transparency appears to be an opaque/hidden/non-comprehensible word at times to the BN) would be for the PM to give himself and the voters more time, after all the11th general election can wait till November 2004, implement his various promises and allow the voters to appreciate and appraise him and his vision and agenda more fully before calling for the all important vote. Would he, dare he?

There is little doubt that the BN will once again be returned in the elections but should the voters, once again, provide it with the massive majority to allow it to do what it likes for the next four to five years and ride roughshod over the populace.

The better thing to do would be to ensure that there is a bigger number of opposition MPs in Parliament to keep the BN government on its toes and ensure that all promises and the agenda for a New Malaysia is really carried out and implemented.

So all us voters should do some careful thinking before we mark that simple 'X' on our ballot papers when the time comes. There can be no meaningful democracy without an effective opposition to effect it.