There are a few actions taken by the newly-installed Prime Minister Najib Tun Rajak which are calculated to moderate his image.

This included releasing about a dozen of ISA detainees, including two of the Hindraf 5 leaders and reversing the ban on the party organs of two Pakatan Rakyat coalition parties.

This is all supposed to contribute to a make-over for the BN government, which willy-nilly will lead to `1 Malaysia'! Now what do all these have to do with free and fair elections?

The superficial reading is that releasing the ISA detainees could soften the image of the incoming PM. But then Dr Mahathir Mohamad released even more when he came into power but then arrested more than he released later when his power came under real challenge.

So anyone with a bit of memory would not buy the largely public relations (PR) exercise by Najib. The test on repressive instinct will only come at a testing time - not at the beginning of a new reign.

Then there was the reversing of the ban of on two party organs giving the impression that the new prime minister is somehow into a free press which is a prerequisite for free and fair elections.

But merely unbanning two party organs does not amount to much - it simply returns to the previous situation before the ban which was a situation of a biased mainstream press dominating society.

The threat that the PM will ban the party organs again is still there - look just as how easily the new prime minister had reversed the ban on the two party organs. This will only confirm to the readers to stick with the online media.

So the two moves by the new prime minister actually caused more suspicions to his `1 Malaysia' rhetoric and the commitment to free and fair elections.

While the rhetoric seems to buy into civil society sentiments against racially divisive politics in Malaysia, it is actually misconstruing the entire concept of what in its latest incarnation is called the `Anak Bangsa Malaysia' concept.

There is no point if Malaysians come together in mediocrity and backwardness. We need to break free of these disabling conditions.

What we need above all is a `No. 1 Malaysia' - not a ‘1 Malaysia'!

We need to be No 1 in terms of free and fair elections, among other good things. We don't need one ship of fools, or one house of thieves or an `animal farm'.

‘1 Malaysia’ of insecure ethnic groups and citizens is a dangerous place to be. Stop the `1 Malaysia' if it is not the best we can get for the citizens/voters.