It would have been more appropriate if Pak Lah had postponed announcing his cabinet line-up for five days to April 1st, because he sure had us all fooled. So it's time for my reality check, especially with all these 'feel good' brouhaha.

In October, I felt really good when the deputy prime minister actually got to become the prime minister. After what happened to the previous three, that was a pleasant surprise.

Then the new broom went out to the kampongs and delivered food and goats to flood victims and worried himself silly about road accidents. That was actually quite nice; it has been long time since a prime minister seem to be bothered about unglamourous stuff.

Soon after, the royal commission to improve the effectiveness of the Royal Malaysian Police was set up. That felt good too. This guy must really mean business because that was followed up with the arrests of two VIPs and a smattering of minor officials on corruption charges.

While Malaysians were breathless in anticipation of more VIP arrests, Parliament was dissolved; as if the new prime minister wanted a reaffirmation of public support for the unpleasant cleaning-up tasks before him. His Oxbridge boys spinned rumours of party warlords being dropped as candidates, as if to test the waters. The public responded with joyous hope.

What these political greenhorns did not fathom was just how deeply ingrained were the power brokers in the system after 22 years of political back-scratching and cronyism. Grandiose plans were thwarted and aborted right up to the last minute before nomination day.

What is remarkable is that the usual tactics of tearful pleas or ingenious deception by those being urged out were replaced by their real threats of tilting the power equilibrium. The new acting party president succumbed and the broadsheet became a muck of erasures. That did not feel good at all.

Hoping against hope, Malaysians still gave Pak Lah the benefit of the doubt and gave him an almost personal mandate at the polls so that he could start with a clean slate. And then we waited breathlessly to welcome his new team for reforms.

Meanwhile, after his big win, he declared almost haughtily that Anwar Ibrahim and alleged election improperities are not his concern. Instead, he reiterated that he can't wait to get on with the tasks of ensuing the well-being of Malaysians.

Somehow, it did not feel good knowing that he intends to achieve the latter without due regard to the former, which is about justice and fair-play. To my mind, the two are not separable.

Then he announced his cabinet line-up. It looked more like a slap-and-dash job than a team committed to the reforms that we had anticipated. It was not just the substance of his cabinet that was worrying. His demeanour when announcing his team 'for the future' was not that of a confident new leader but that of a harassed man, forgetting a couple of ministries and stumbling over names of his own appointees.

Last Saturday afternoon, I still do not know if I was watching the saviour or a pretender to the throne par excellence. What I do know for sure is that my taps still run brown water and it may remain like that for the next five years - at least. And I do not feel good, at all.