After reading about the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) last-minute cancellation of its meeting with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday, it is clear that the government and Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) is in a state of utter confusion and paralysis.

The bitter irony for them is that the problems are, in the main, of their own making.

After three days of boasting and sabre-rattling - including de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz's words that Anwar must concede or face possible arrest - the only sounds coming from the courtyard of Anwar's office in Petaling Jaya yesterday were chants of 'Reformasi! Reformasi! Reformasi' and 'Allah, Selamatkan Anwar!'

When Anwar stepped into the courtyard and into the embrace of a passionate audience and announced the apparent victory, there were cries of jubilation.

The police Special Branch officers milling in the crowd and who had prevented students from the nearby 9th College of Universiti Malaya from crossing the street to join the rally - had plenty to tell their masters when they got back to the office. Some are of course still parked down the street.

Let's not lose our perspective. This is one battle won...but the struggle for justice continues.

The economic outlook in Malaysia is still dismal. Corruption is indeed rampant and worsening. The ACA is trying hard to flex its muscle, but unfortunately it can only claim victory in a few small, inconsequential cases. The big fish are still roaming freely, swallowing up more largesse and ultimately shortchanging the people.

The political climate is depressing and increasingly myopic. Everyone is talking about an early election but the government remains silent as if trying to pull a fast one us, once again.

Meanwhile, constituencies are apparently being rigged right before our very eyes and the Election Commission has demonstrated its effectiveness more as the re-election headquarters for the BN rather than as an institution to promote and ensure free and fair elections.

Social tensions are boiling. One does not have to peel away more than a layer to see how fragile and stressed out the relations are between ethnic groups, as if waiting to explode at the slightest provocation.

And to pour salt on this festering wound...we as a nation are actually entertaining the notion of giving Chief Justice Ahmed Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim an extension of his tenure.

What nation that professes to be modern and democratic and a ' hadhari' country can insult its people with such an audacious and indefensible act? Shame on you, (premier) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. That Ahmad Fairuz is even receiving a paycheck is beyond my powers of comprehension.

Attacks to continue

What can we expect now? Certainly the ghosts of 1998 will be resurrected and the attacks on the PKR-led opposition coalition and the direct attacks on Anwar will begin and intensify once the election date is revealed.

In the meantime it is not out of the realm of possibility that Anwar and his brave associates are carted off to prison - their crime being the valiant attempt to bring to justice those characters who have quite clearly tampered with the sanctity of the judicial system.

Of course we know that in doing so, the government virtually guarantees the success of a strong and dedicated opposition that cherishes principle over mere profit and the lust for power.

Furthermore, the international community is watching with apparent disgust at how our government is conducting its affairs in our name. This I gathered in my conversations with a number of senior diplomats who were guests at Anwar's open house in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur last weekend.

The scathing critique of the judiciary authored by Anwar in the Wall Street Journal this week assures us that millions around the world are now looking at this government's dirty laundry. We are soon to be on par with Myanmar in the quality, level and type of publicity that we attract.

So, dear friends and countrymen (and countrywomen), we must not bask in our glory for more than a blink of an eye. Our work in communicating the core message of reform and renewal to the people must go on and must in fact accelerate.

At the same time, those who would prefer to sweep all this under the rug and carry on with business as usual are planning and plotting their next move (though we can see from the events of this week that they have not been very effective given all the money they have at their disposal).

We are counting on the blogosphere and on journalists of conscience and our fellow citizens who recognise the stakes to help us in this effort.

There is no doubt in my mind that yesterday's event was a categorical victory for all Malaysians and that Anwar is taking a firm stand. He has exposed himself to great personal risk for an issue that he believes strongly affects the very heart of this nation.

I also saw with my own eyes and felt in my heart in ways that I have not experienced in my many years on this earth that one man can make a huge difference and that we must be unified in the pursuit of justice.

DIN MERICAN is Programme Director of PKR.