The jailing of Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor under the Official Secrets Act is yet another silencing act of the government aimed at sealing the lips of citizens in exposing the corruption of top politicians.

Similar silencing acts are done by local public universities whose managements shamelessly silence the so-called 'dissensions' and oppositions raised by students genuinely seeking the betterment of society.

Even laymen are not spared: Any inquiry on our behalf on simple matters on development plans (referring to the plans of MPPJ and the MPPP on PORR) are silenced by the authorities.

We live under the illusions of prosperity and peace as we remain deaf to the corruption and incompetence of our government officials. They censor us and we in turn self-censor ourselves to stay out of trouble. When are we going to move towards a new level of collective consciousness?

Can't we see that Malaysia is like a rotten egg smooth and shiny on the outside, but stinky and rotten on the inside?

Can't we see that beyond our facade and rhetoric, we are still weak and lowly, pale in comparison to UK, US, Japan and Korea?