Tony Thien, reporting on Sarawak politics, should perhaps try to scratch a little deeper below the surface. He would then discover the strong undercurrent and able to lend more insights to the real and prickly issues circulating in and around the kampongs and coffee shops. Hot on every lip laments, like a death march, the pathos and the ethos of the politically elite at the pinnacle of power in Sarawak. Yet, term after term, election after election, the results are predictably the same - in spite of the open common knowledge of graft of the highest order.

The equation is really quite simple. You need not be Einstein to appreciate this. How on earth, in the overall scheme of things, can a top politician and his entire family afford a lavish lifestyle, the likes of royalty, on his official salary?

Politically, the strategy is also quite simple. Like the British - divide and rule; plot and counterplot. Just look at how the component parties within the state Barisan have been manipulated. A political party formed since 1961 has been deregistered, another with well-educated and professional Ibans has also been deregistered..

The dominance of one party is further entrenched and perceived as indispensable. The culture of dominance is further perpetuated. The absence of any alternative sits very comfortably indeed for the power that be at the state level and also during the era of 'Mahathirism' at the federal level.

So, are we really any better off from the days of colonisation? Evidently not. In fact, we have, over time, developed a 'colonial mindset' - from being colonised by the Brookes, we now continue to be colonised by another power of the land.

The final analysis? The people deserve whoever they get. After all, in a democracy, voting is every citizen's tool to change a government. Silence, or worse, fear to participate and exercise your rights is clearly a deficiency of moral fortitude and conscience. Alas, we hold dear to our hearts the dictum, 'better the devil we know than the devil we don't know' and proceed to condone grafts of varying degree right from the very top down to a clerk in civil service.

Today, we are truly blessed with a new PM who possesses the moral courage to make changes from within. And what do we do? The prophets of doom decry and denounce his efforts. We must instead rally behind this good man who has the strong conviction to purge the system of corrupt warlords and pervasive graft. Let his love for the country infect all citizens and infuse into the maligned system his principles of governance.

For us in East Malaysia, however, we have a grim dilemma. It is a classic case of absolute power corrupts absolutely. We have, in the past, watched helplessly and silently, blatant abuses of power, awards of projects without tenders, 'corporatisation' exercises to family-owned companies, nepotism and cronyism. An entire empire has been built this way over four terms in office spread over 23 years.

We now desperately want and need a change of leadership at the state level. Whilst we wholeheartedly support and applaud our new prime minister's efforts, by design, at the state level we still have no alternative but the opposition parties. How do the rakyat speak? How will the ballot boxes represent our support for change at the state level? How do we make our votes count?

Hence, it makes perfect sense to rationalise Umno's presence in all the states of Malaysia. Why is Sarawak the only sacrosanct BN state without Umno's presence? Are we not being left out of mainstream politics? Particularly when the component parties within the ruling front are in constant and total disarray with orchestrated in-fighting, is it not time for Umno's entry into Sarawak to welcome the disgruntled back into the BN fold? Fear of being colonised by Umno? This word has been tossed about loosely and meaninglessly. Let's get real. Have we not been colonised for the last 23 years of dynastic rule?

All said, we should now help our prime minister break new ground and shape the common aspirations of all Malaysians. Let it be known that for us here in East Malaysia, when we vote BN, it is our Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that we are voting - not the bunch of cronies and clowns in the state ruling front.