Call it deja vu - barely a month after the March 21 general elections, Malaysians are already getting rather familiar blasts from the past.

First, newly-minted Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, who had asked for RM385 million in additional funding for state-owned RTM, argued it was too costly to plonk a TV camera in our Dewan Rakyat to provide live telecasts of its sittings.

Days later, Selangor Mentri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo said his 'low-cost housing for the rich' proposal could really help the poor - this, without even batting an eyelid.

His Perlis counterpart, Shahidan Kassim ( photo ) joined the circus with another hare-brained idea - National Service camps should be located in ' no reception zones ' to stop trainees from SMS-ing the problems they're facing in the camps to the outside world. He already has two such sites in mind.

Not to be left out, Deputy Tourism Minister Zahid Hamidi issued a dare to opposition leaders to publicly declare their assets instead of badgering cabinet ministers to do the same. The challenge was accepted but Zahid has since been conspicuously silent.

All these 'luminaries' share one thing in common - they are holdovers from the old regime. So much for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's boast that 'his own people' are with him.

Thailand's example

Talking about assets declaration, Abdullah need not look far for pointers on how to keep his men and women honest.

Thailand's new constitution requires all cabinet ministers, MPs, senators, local government councillors and top civil servants to declare their assets.

Not only that - they also have to provide details of assets belonging to their spouses and children. This is to prevent unscrupulous politicians from parking their illegal wealth with their next-of-kin.

Moreover, declarations by cabinet ministers must be publicly disclosed, while the rest are submitted, not to the prime minister, but to the Counter Corruption Commission (CCC) - a more independent version of our Anti-Corruption Agency.

Those who fail to submit their assets declarations, or intentionally submit false details, will have to immediately vacate their posts and are banned from holding political office for five years.

PSM does it

Abdullah, fresh from his overwhelming mandate in last month's polls, has vowed that his cabinet members would come clean with their wealth - they are to declare their assets directly to him.

But for someone who promises reform, such a 'for-my-eyes-only' assets declaration is nothing more than a rehash of the old regime.

Indeed, his not-so-popular ex-boss, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, concocted this strategy to give himself more power over his cabinet.

Instead of following Mahathir's lead, Abdullah should take the example set by Parti Socialis Malaysia - the tiny opposition party which directed its candidates to bare all before the general elections.

Party leader Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim, a former University Malaya lecturer, publicly disclosed that he has no fixed assets and that he earns a monthly income of about RM2,500 as an acupuncturist.

Another PSM candidate, Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, a medical doctor, owns a semi-detached house in Ipoh valued around RM120,000.

He has two cars - a 1986 Mazda worth around RM20,000 and a 1963 Volkswagen worth around RM10,000. He also disclosed that he holds shares valued at around RM12,000 and has bank savings of RM10,000.

Clearly, PSM deserves to be credited as the first political party to require its candidates to declare their assets to the public.

False declarations

It is only when asset declarations are made public that government officials can be held accountable.

Indeed, that was how Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - the country's richest man - was caught with his hand in the cookie jar by a dedicated team of investigative journalists.

Editor Prasong Lertratanawisute and his hard-boiled journalists from the Matichon Daily found that Thaksin - just before he became prime minister - had diverted shares worth RM200 million to a gaggle of unlikely individuals - his maid, driver, gardener, security guard and friends (including, yes, a dead one).

As a result of the expose, Thaksin ( photo ) - who has been touted as the new Mahathir - was hauled to court by the CCC on charges of making false statements in his assets declaration.

Thaksin's defence? He said he had no intention of concealing his wealth. More so that the shares represented only a fraction of his wealth. He blamed his wife for making the arrangements, and that he had forgotten about them.

"Believe my words," Thaksin tearfully told the court, "and give me a chance to serve my country." A few judges were apparently moved by his plea - they voted 8-7 to acquit him.

Twice failed

Abdullah, too, has asked Malaysians to believe his words and be given the chance to serve his country. Like the Thais, Malaysians responded by giving Abdullah a sweeping mandate in the recent polls.

But will Abdullah walk the talk?

He has since failed us twice - he kept a number of unsavoury characters in his XXL-sized cabinet and has rejected a call by the Election Commission for an independent probe into irregularities during the March 21 polls.

Will he now ensure that there is transparency in assets declaration - one that will stand the acid test of public scrutiny? Or will he just talk and let Malaysians do the walking?