While I respect the right to freedom of speech, I must say with due respect that Freddy Toh's crude attack against the opposition front sounds narcissistic and self-righteous.

He agrees that Barisan Nasional is unpopular but because of what he sees as some imperfections of Barisan Alternatif, he calls us not to support the opposition front. What he has not said is probably that we should all support DAP because both BN and BA are equally bad.

No one, not even BA leaders, has ever claimed BA is perfect, or that once BA comes to power, every woe in this country would instantly be solved. No government or opposition in this world can ever make a claim of absolute perfection.

However, in principle, what a party or a group of like-minded parties can ever claim is that it is better than its opponents. All normal adults, whatever their ideologies, understand this unspoken and self-evident truth.

In the Malaysian reality, while everyone has the right to proclaim his or her ultimate ideals to boost morale, one must understand that no one major party can actually come to power alone at the federal level. All have to cooperate with others. So let us not over-react to 'Islamic state' or 'Malaysian Malaysia', to the point of neurosis and paranoia.

What is evidently needed now is a strong and effective opposition in the Parliament and various state assemblies. That means the opposition must have greater number of members of parliament and state assembly members than what it has now.

Above all, it also means that it has to be genuinely multiethnic and multireligious, and not dominated by any one race or religious group.

There are now serious discontent and alienation among many Malays and Muslims arising out of the corruption and abuses of power by Umno over a long period of time.

Like the non-Malays and non-Muslims who supported DAP in the past, they need peaceful channels to express their grievances within the systems of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

They also need the empathy and solidarity of non-Malays and non-Muslims who could see the larger picture out there in the whole country.

It is a mistake to presume that the ordinary people in the streets are 'realistic' people as the writer implies. While some are also passionate about public and human affairs, they may not see the issues as 'politics'.

Most probably put their priority on earning a decent living before politics, but this does not mean they have no sense of justice. That is why a strong opposition to check the balance is for the good of the country and people.