The night Teresa Kok was arrested, I was with some friends having teh tarik. One friend commented: “What’s happening to Malaysia?" Another friend replied; "The same thing that’s been happening the last 20 years." What an apt reply, I thought.

The difference is that the ‘new’ rakyat now have a renewed sense of power and hope. By ‘new’ rakyat I mean the younger generation of Malaysians born a few years before 1969 and after, who are not scarred by the May 13 riots and have no first hand recollection of how bad it was.

These are the ones, aged 45 and below, who stood up on March 8 to make a difference. On March 9, many of their elders were afraid to leave their homes for fear of race riots- but to the relief of all, nothing happened.

Tengku Razaleigh yesterday expressed concern that the situation in the country was “dangerous, where the rule of law was uncertain and the constitution was not being upheld”.

The truth is, Malaysians have in the last 20 years, been facing a dangerous situation with the constitution being amended at the whims and fancies of someone I can only describe as a despot. Dr Mahathir's sad description of the Parliament is that it is a “mere rubberstamp”.

As a result of the BN government’s control of Parliament, our constitution in its 51 years of history has been amended 42 times with a total of 650 amendments, with more than one amendment at each time.

The United States of America in its 200 year history has amended the constitution a mere 27 times. Tell me when was the constitution never under any threat?

The BN's continued use of ISA shows a disregard for the rule of law. Since 1957, the BN government has detained 3,200 Malaysians under the ISA. The favourite victims of the ISA are opposition leaders like Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim, Tian Chua and many other activists who can hardly be considered threats to national security. Unless ‘national security’ is a code name for Barisan Nasional.

There are currently a total of 120 detainees who are languishing under the ISA.

The BN's constant reminder of May 13 and the use of racial segregation to justify the existence of race based parties like Umno, MCA and MIC are a stumbling block to a truly united Malaysia. BN's formula worked on the notion that only a Malay can look after the interest of a Malay and similarly a Chinese for the Chinese, etc.

As such, each political party within BN worked in opposite directions, fighting for the rights of their individual race. This rarely worked towards the good of Malaysia as a whole.

So after reading Tengku Razaleigh's desperate plea as a result of his observation of a nation under crisis, I must say that what we see today is a result of a callous generation of Malaysians who allowed Umno and BN to rule for 51 years without challenge and accountability.

The last 20 years were especially hard, as Dr Mahathir never let anyone stand in the way of his plans and ambitions. Tengku Razaleigh will agree with me, himself being a victim of injustice many times before.

In conclusion, ethics and morality aside, 51 years is too long and after 20 years of abusing the constitution and the various institutions of government that provide checks and balance, I for one cannot wait to see a change in government.