We are enlightened once again by Umar Mukhtar's letter ( Pak Lah never promised us a rose garden ). It is true we have placed high expectations on a mere mortal man. We have asked Pak Lah to undo a culture of graft and corruption so ingrained in the fabric of the governments administration and politicians.

The sad part is the state of denial and the only ones who admit to it are Pak Lah (to a degree) and the losers of the last Umno general assembly. Our dear PM inherited a plate full of problems with a near-empty government coffer.

So we have to face rising cost in anything and everything - from petrol to foods and services.

Our roads are falling apart, our water supply has regressed to pre-colonial days when we lived off muddy river waters, and our hospitals and schools are not built to standard. Trucks and lorries are overturning either because they are not maintained or overloaded.

Buses scour the capital chugging out black fumes that makes the city look dull and sooty. Petty crimes like bag snatching are at an all-time high. Many of these problems and more are a direct result of graft and corruption. When government officials look to get rich, rather then administering, the rakyat suffer.

Some say, we ought to be grateful because we are not as corrupt as Indonesia or as backward as the Philippines and the smog not as bad as Peru. So be happy with what we've got.

Settle for mediocrity and that is exactly what you get; mediocrity. A mediocre public transport service, a mediocre infrastructure, and a mediocre public service etc.

We do however have a couple of the tallest buildings in the world and the tallest flag pole. We also have a state-of-the-art government administration centre in Putrajaya and many other ego projects that helped empty out our coffers.

Band-aid solutions to the corruption cancer will not do. If our PM cannot reform the party from within, the rakyat will have to look elsewhere to seek reforms.