Shahrir Abdul Samad, when Sadirah K casts his vote for you, I think it reflects the voice of innumerable right-thinking, reasonable and ordinary Malaysians. Be it ever so small, you can have my vote too and I sincerely hope the vast silent majority of Malaysians will join in this chorus of support at this time when a measure of simple sanity would have averted all that brouhaha and hullabaloo. But first, let me say what I admire about you.

Firstly, I admire your reasoned and passionate commitment to principles at a time when lesser men, parliamentarians to wit, would fight, bribe and browbeat their way to achieve positions, power and popularity.

Secondly, I admire your courage and avowed preparedness to sacrifice your esteemed position for the sake of preserving parliamentary integrity. Unlike for you, integrity is a vague word with little essence and a deceptive chameleon-like quality to the low-down politician.

Thirdly, I salute you for your clear thinking and for your ability to see the trees for the woods. It's not political convention or party policies that is the issue here. What is at stake is the very doctrine of parliamentary independence and sovereignty itself. Parliament is supreme and independent. Parliament is not a party; though parliamentarians emanate from parties. BN cannot exercise its brute majority and dictate that it's permissible to allow BN parliamentarians to influence civil servants or the judiciary.

BN's chief whip cannot crack his whip to get its party parliamentarians to toe the party lines on issues that compromise the integrity and independence of Parliament. That would certainly be the death knell for the separation of powers and our Westminster model of parliamentary sovereignty.

This is not always plain and clear even to parliamentarians, and unsurprisingly so, if we understand their differing backgrounds. That was why Shahrir implied Malaysian parliamentarians need to learn - and learn they must.

I share your view, Shahrir, that integrity transcends narrow party politics. Because of questions on integrity, Nixon was impeached, Isa Samad had to step down and Thaksin forced to have a snap election notwithstanding his brute majority in Parliament.

The political landscape of every nation is polka-dotted with abuses and excesses that has dirtied the pristine stream of integrity. Shahrir, thanks for this precipitous endeavour at renewal and restoration of that stream.

Finally, all the talk of world-class and first-world mindsets would be mere hiss and effervescence which will quickly dissipate if we fail so miserably on so fundamental and pivotal a point as integrity. When parliamentarians gloss over cases that cast aspersions on the integrity of Parliament, that is undoubtedly akin to intravenously feeding a malignancy.

Pak Lah has started the trek on integrity's sublime path, Shahrir has given it a renewed impetus. Let's continue the push forward. To borrow Pak Lah's famous phrase, 'We cannot fail, we must not fail'.

YB Shahrir, the nation stands proudly and resolutely with you.