Ahmad Akmal in Letter-writers, do more than just write urges Malaysians to vote for independent candidates in the next general election as an alternative to the current political leaders. While his intention may be good, the fact remains that voting independent candidates is simply a waste of votes. It does not help Malaysia go forward in any way.

We have enough political parties to vote for in any election. Of course, we all would not get a political party that perfectly fits our wishes, like a hand in a glove. Thus, Malaysian voters should educate their politicians and shape the way they run political parties.

There is actually simple method to do this, but it takes some courage and patience. We just need to swing the pendulum of power from one side to another. Over time, things will then surely move towards the right direction. The problem with Malaysia is we never changed the ruling parties, not even once since our independence.

By failing to change the ruling parties, the clock evolvement of political maturity is stopped. The ruling parties create hegemony and pave the way for corruption and abuses. The opposition parties, on the other hand, have also no opportunity to assume a bigger responsibility in nation building, and are thus stuck with their defensive, extreme ideologies.

I believe the only way to re-start the clock towards political maturity is by giving an opportunity to the ruling parties under BN to taste their own medicine. And at the same time, give the opposition parties some lessons and experience in political responsibility and leadership. Once given the chance to govern, these opposition parties would soon realise that they need to embrace moderation to gain a broad acceptance. Again, it would take time to realise this, but this process must continue.

We must keep changing the ruling parties as this has been proven effective in the US and European countries. When a political party realises that it has to live between power and a watchdog position, the process of political moderation would certainly take place. There are some risks, but they are worth taking for the sake of allowing the process of political maturity to take place.

For instance, PAS may be deemed as a religious zealots' political party by many of us. But, it has long history of political engagement which makes it somewhat more moderate today than it was 20 years ago perhaps. It has started to field women candidates, give more room for professionals to play a role in party's affairs and aggressively develop its national image. This instead of a sectarian rural party it was previously known to many as.

Of course, some of us may find them far from doing enough. But, this process can only be accelerated by giving them more room to engage a broader section Malaysian society in an open political domain.

So, the problem is not really with the political parties, but more with the Malaysian voters' ability to allow the process of political maturity to take place. It is within our ability to make the power pendulum swing and keep swinging for our benefit.

We must stop comparing which party is better and which party is worse. From a multi- dimensional point of view, they all have good and bad points. We should all take responsibility to allow the process of political maturity to take place by moving the pendulum of power from one side to another. Bigoted voters will beget bigoted rulers. Vote not for hatred or fear, but for courage and hope. The voters should decide how political parties behave, not the other way around.

In the next general election, I suggest that we start with the Selangor state government. I believe the Malaysian political landscape would change a lot for the better if Selangor is no longer under BN's hand. Selangor's voters, being the most educated and economically independent, are our best bet for this change to happen.