With the ascension of Najib Abdul Razak to the premiership of the country, we should be seeing some changes to the administration of the nation, starting with the much needed and coveted reforms required in almost all aspects that impact the lives of the ordinary citizenry.

Perhaps the most urgent on the agenda would be the act of ‘standing on one's own' and devoid of earlier influences and a make-over of the more negative perceptions leftover from the previous regimes.

In as much as it seems like an unappreciative gesture, the new PM can be seen from recent developments, post-ascent, to be distancing himself from the governing methods of previous regimes.

For starters, there were hints of a review of the ISA toward emphasis on human rights and civil liberties, a ‘freer' press and, of course, the oft-promised transparency and stamping out of corruption.

His moves since the swearing-in appear more people-friendly with the intention to begin regaining back lost ground and the confidence of the commoner and to reassure against negative perceptions.

This would, for a start, disassociate himself from the inactive performance record of the previous prime minister and the authoritarian one of the one before, starting anew with a more action- oriented approach.

This sounds like the usual politically-correct approach though the results echoed in the ‘1 Malaysia' concept remain to be seen.

With the just-announced new cabinet lineup with the ‘aim to focus on the people' and the creation of a new unity portfolio under the Prime Minister's Department, things should be in place to start baking cakes.

There is however, one more subject to be emphasised and that is the doing away with the traditional ‘pay back time' that comes post-election results.

This, as we are all aware, are the rewards granted through lucrative appointments and award of projects against all norms of transparency and accountability to both friendly and unfriendly parties in the political arena in appreciation and to maintain obedience respectively.

This practice should be abolished and jobs, projects, land and the like should rightly be received by those deserving them and those who have followed all the rules of the game.