The man that many thought would not be prime minister has turned in a first quarter performance in office that can only be termed as shocking and awesome. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the mild-mannered deputy of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has come of age, in just the first three months in office. In the process, he has captured the hearts of his people and the imagination of political punters, both the able and the coffee-shop kind.

No one in his/her wildest imagination would have thought that Pak Lah would overturn his predecessor's final act in office, the granting of a RM14.5 billion railway double tracking project to his alleged crony, the formidable billionaire businessman Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari and consortium partner Gamuda.

The project was awarded just two days before Pak Lah took office, a final act of cronyism that incurred the wrath of nothing less than the governments of China and India whose railway corporations were apparently initially "awarded" letters to complete sections of the project albeit at a higher price to be paid for by bartering palm oil.

Although the Chinese government was less vocal than the Indians, the underlying threat to cancel palm oil purchases from Malaysia and to redirect them to Indonesia and Thailand would have caused more than just a diplomatic incident, it could have been disastrous to the palm oil industry in Malaysia.

I am an admirer of Mahathir, who has done much for Malaysia, but even I could not fathom his reasoning for doing this at the end of his term. No departing leader should make decisions that cause such catastrophic problems and shackle the incoming leader. This project not only hurt relations with our larger neighbours and other leading Asian economies, but would also have derailed the balancing of the national budget to beyond 2007, created havoc with the palm oil industry and propagated cronyism when we least needed it.

Kudos then to Pak Lah for having the gumption to overturn (or delay whatever) the awarding of this project. This alone has made the man but there is more.

Misplaced theory

His recent decision to appoint a Royal Commission on the police is perhaps an admission that changes are necessary. The legal fraternity has been petitioning for this for the last 20 years of Mahathir's term and has repeatedly accused the police of brutality, corruption and illegal practices but the Mahathir administration has always rebuffed these charges and petitions.

Pak Lah has also stated his policy of doing more for the rural population, revamping education and eliminating corruption, including at the highest levels. He has also approved the hiring of more police officers to curb crime including corrupt practices and has given greater authority to the Anti-Corruption Agency. He has also promised to reduce bureaucracy and improve government administration.

The most recent announcement that all future government contracts will be awarded by open tender is welcome relief to genuine business people and will go very far indeed in creating a more competitive and resilient corporate sector. Awarding tenders to selected individuals and consortiums creates waste, enriches the few at the expense of the many and does not allow real entrepreneurship to flourish.

Many of the beneficiaries of the largesse of the former administration from the Halim Saads to the Tajuddin Ramlis have fallen at the first hurdle of a major crisis, proving that government handouts benefit no one. Such handouts normally at prices much higher than on open tenders also mean that the government has to pay more, thus leaving less money that can be spent on more meaningful projects. This only benefits selected individuals who get rich quick (the original get-rich-quick scheme), while the average citizen and hardworking entrepreneurs get the crumbs.

The theory that creating several rich individuals will enable them to become hugely successful entrepreneurs who will then create other entrepreneurs is misguided and deceptive. It has only created greedy entrepreneurs who continue to seek handouts and their greatest qualification is not skill or sweat but good connections - the ability to rub shoulders at the highest levels.

Mahathir's 'monsters'

As a past president of the Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM), I have had many meetings at Putrajaya to push our case for technopreneurship including open tenders, and on virtually every occasion we would see the so-called captains of industry hanging around near the PM's office.

On one occasion a senior officer at the PM's office told us (somewhat disgustedly I must add) that some of them were there because there were rumours that there were several new contracts to be awarded and they wanted to make sure they got a bit of the action. These are the monsters that the former administration had created. The intentions of Mahathir may have been good, but over 20 years of such largesse has created such greed among businessmen that there is some cause for worry about the new policies of Pak Lah that create greater transparency and good governance.

The question is will these greedy businessmen accept such policies and change their business practices to become more competitive or will they attempt to take a different course of action, by using politics to change the leadership - at the next Umno elections perhaps? Is Pak Lah strong enough politically to keep them in line or will there be an underground movement within Umno to destabilise the leadership?

Money is a powerful tool, and greed is not easily overcome by a sense of propriety. Will they think of the overall good of the nation or their personal interest? Thus it is now that Pak Lah needs the people's support more than anything. In little more than three months he has changed the course of Malaysian politics and policy and appears to be steering us away from 22 years of Malaysia Incorporated (or Is-corrupted).

For some, this may be too much too soon, and therein lies the danger. The prime minister has 't urun padang' , he has taken up the gauntlet, he has shown his true colours, it is time that we the citizenry, do the same. Let us toss out the old practices and create a new Malaysia, one that believes in transparency, good governance and in rewarding the able not the well connected. I call upon the opposition to also cast aside their old grouses and to look anew at our new leadership. There will be failures and we should continue to vigorously point them out, but do not oppose for the sake of opposing.

There are still some, even among leading oppositionists who, unbelievably, think Mahathir is still running the government. Yes, old habits are hard to break especially when such feelings are so deep-rooted but I urge them to wake up. That old battle is over and a new dawn is upon us. It is time for a rethink of the old battle plans.

There is a new man about town and he is making drastic changes. Change is the only constant, but can the opposition and we the citizenry change as well? He needs support, not just the people's but also the opposition's. Will he get it? I pray that he does, but only time will tell.