Two years since the opposition won five states in the 12th general election on March 8 , 2008, the euphoria has all but died down, no thanks to rampant politicking on both sides of the spectrum.

Speaking alongside social activist Haris Ibrahim to a full house at the Assumption Church in Petaling Jaya last night, author Kee Thuan Chye made no bones about the sorry state of Malaysian politics.

But the author of bestselling book March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up said that Malaysians must regain the optimism to “make irreversible the trend to take Malaysia out of the dark ages”.