Remember not too long ago when just about everyone was braying for the defence minister's blood for allowing an appalling breach in national security. No? Then fast rewind three weeks.

In its editorial on July 4, the New Straits Times eloquently lamented that the "robbery of weapons is only scripted by screen writers. It does not spring up even in the lawless countries when rebellious groups are armed with weapons supplied by mercenary dealers. It should not have happened in this country. We, as Malaysians, want answers. Indeed everyone seeks an explanation, transparent and comprehensive."

It further said that Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak should "ultimately be held accountable". Anything less, it insisted, would be "untenable, unacceptable and scandalous".

We couldn't agree more. To be honest, we couldn't have written a better editorial. We, too, seek answers, transparent and comprehensive - not the selective and piecemeal explanations dished out by the government so far.

More so, heads must roll for such an embarrassing breach in our national security. And it must not stop with just the arrested terrorists.

It is also interesting to note, too, how the word "drama" to describe the arms heist is abruptly no longer "officially sanctioned".

Surely, the manner in which the heist was pulled was dramatic.

Don't just take our words. Take, for example, The Star .

According to its senior journalist, Wong Chun Wai, the arm heist drama was "a bad script, even for a B-grade action movie. The plot, or the lack of it, would be more befitting a low-budget comedy".

Likewise, The Sun newspaper described the heist as "a stunt straight out of the Hollywood movie The Rock ."

Even Najib considered the daring robbery as "sleek, cleverly planned and executed".

But while it was dramatic, it would, however, require a leap of imagination to believe that this Hollywood-style robbery, and later the torture and murder of two hostages, were staged by the government, ostensibly to weaken PAS.

That some quarters would think so goes to show that the government has a credibility problem, as alluded to by former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam in a malaysiakini [#1] interview[/#] two months ago.

Not surprisingly, in the past week the government has been on the "defensive" in overcoming what would have been easily dismissed as an off-the-planet theory in normal times.

But we are not living in normal times. Indeed, the government has a credibility gap since the controversial sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The way Anwar was fired, charged and sentenced only helped to reinforce the perception that the demise of the country's once second most powerful man could be a political "sandiwara".

That "drama" will come to a climax on Aug 4, next Friday. The High Court has announced that it will hand down with a decision on the sodomy charges against Anwar.

The reformasi movement, backed by Keadilan, has vowed to gather in front of the High Court come judgment day.

But expect the government to try its level best to stop this from happening, much like what it did with the Black 14 rally last April. Expect also the suggestion that the gathering will be violent, with perhaps a few Molotov cocktails thrown in. And expect pre-rally arrests of its key organisers.

Clearly, the verdict of Anwar's sodomy trial will have great impact on the political landscape of Malaysia as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had justified Anwar's sacking in September 1998 on the latter's alleged "immoral activities".

However, the verdict will not patch up the political divide. A conviction will add much needed fodder to the flagging reformasi movement. An acquittal will throw more doubt on Mahathir's credibility and the perception of that a "sandiwara" is at work.

Next Friday, Anwar will face his judgment. So, too, will Mahathir.