The first prime minister is credited with shattering the shackles of British colonialism. The second took the country on the road to industrialisation while the third kept that policy on a steady course.

The fourth put Malaysia firmly on the world map as an Asian economic tiger apart from throttling dissenting voices, castrating the judiciary and tightening the muzzle on the press - all seen as obstacles to achieving his 'lofty' goals.

The fifth prime minister - known as 'Mr Clean' - faces the toughest mission: that of re-calibrating the whole graft-stained establishment, an education system (the backbone of nation building) in shambles, the outcome of long being treated like a political football and the government delivery system crippled by the patronage system.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has inherited a nation that is permeated by a culture of fear which has practically killed off initiative among lower ranking bureaucrats with citizens shut out of the decision making process.

The most dramatic illustration of this alienation was the spontaneous and unprecedented eruption of demonstrations against the unceremonious sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

The steps taken by Pak Lah into the third month of taking office show that he had taken to heart the lesson from that phenomenon that stunned the nation and shook the Barisan Nasional.

One can now discern his experience as a bureaucrat wedded to his long period in politics coming into play in the decisions being taken, generally aimed at the well-being of the ordinary people.

Cause for alarm

This sudden change in the political atmosphere must have alarmed the top beneficiaries of the country's largesse who had blithely ignored the responsibilities that are tied to the privileges they have enjoyed.

It's inevitable that thoughts of those whose comfort zones are under threat, including those of Umno warlords, would bend towards sabotage in order to maintain the status quo.

So the call by newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak directed at the ill-intentioned to cease and to desist in their attempts to drive a wedge between himself and the PM is quite revealing.

Talk has been circulating on several failed attempts to ' pasang khaki ' (trip) Pak Lah including the oldest in the book of political dirty tricks, the honey trap.

It's apparent that Pak Lah's style of reaching out to the people directly without the benefit of the organised nasi lemak and sherbet express of bygone days has caught his opponents off balance. His wide ranging and potentially wrenching moves coming at breathtaking speed must have also contributed to their consternation.

And his blunt advice to political leaders to shun graft so as to set an example for government officials has not only warmed the hearts of the general population but also won Pak Lah the time and space needed to lay the ground work for regaining ground lost in the last general election.

From top to bottom the public sector, including companies under its control, is under pressure to reinvent itself to be more efficient.

The blistering letters in the press give a good idea of the roiling public anger at the inefficiency of the public sector and the unbridled greed of the private sector. The most damage done to the government comes from the local administrations' callous indifference to the legitimate woes of the public.

The lingering Cabinet

However, one of Pak Lah's biggest handicaps is that, except for the second finance minister, the others in the Cabinet are not of his choice.

The fact that no minister heeded the advice of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad that his Cabinet should follow his resignation is illuminating: that our public life lacks the vital ingredient of shame.

Despite the paean of praise and oaths of loyalty they pledged to Mahathir over the years, none of his appointees had the grace, courtesy and guts to heed that advice and step down to give Pak Lah a free hand in naming his own Cabinet.

Any person treasuring integrity would have resigned to preserve the sense of self-worth and, as a by product, earn enormous political capital. But, then, most politicians are enslaved by self-interest as the public well knows.

Why, there are enough people around who would derive great joy in sticking pins into voodoo dolls made in the image of politicians from both sides of the divide.

Perhaps the time is ripe to initiate a custom of newly appointed Cabinet members submitting undated letters of resignation for the PM to accept at a time of his choosing.

Pak Lah has introduced a refreshingly different style into the political environment, simple and straightforward; less emphasis on rhetoric and more on substance, something the nation was thirsting for a long time.

However, all this has been a curtain raiser. The real tests lie ahead and Pak Lah's actual work, mountain high, would only begin after he leads a convincing win for the Barisan Nasional at the polls as a resounding endorsement for his return to the basics blueprint.

This is a pivotal point in the country's history. The outcome of the general election would decide whether the nation enters a new era where the people prove they are the masters and that one man can make a difference.

The people would still have the option to hold him ransom to his words.