Please allow me to voice my opinion regarding a recent divorce case before the Selangor Shariah court that took seven years to come to fruition. What is amazing to me is the lack of accountability from the officials. No one has come out to state that a mistake or oversight was made. Instead, a host of politicians were quick to pass on the blame onto the divorcing couple.

One minister even wanted to increase the size of bureaucracy by adding more personnel. Adding more people to a mediocre system does not solve the issue of efficiency. Demanding accountability and meritorious performance seems foreign to Malaysian bureaucracy.

The leadership and bureaucrats seem to possess the attitude that once they are in such positions, they can do no wrong and are above approach. The laws are passed and policies formulated on frequent basis without much thought put into it. Let alone allowing debates or citizens' inputs or they will threaten you with all sorts of punishment.

Perhaps, time has come that we demand accountability from high officials who fail to supervise the agencyand subordinates' performance. If we want to become a developed country, there is no excuse in hiring mediocre bureaucrats, politicians included.

From a psychological vantage point, we should start to reinvigorate the parliament and do away with the all-powerful cabinet. Cabinet does not represent us as Parliament does. The present reality in the country is that when Cabinet decides on anything it becomes law. No ifs and buts. So perhaps what happened in the Selangor Shariah court is a tiny metaphor of termites eating and rotting down a house.

We need to treat this mediocrity and incompetency as early as possible. It is time that we instill meritocracy in the running of our system. For the sake of the country we need to hire the best regardless of their backgrounds.

If we do not make our politicians and officials accountable, our house will collapse. Perhaps, this is something we can think about when we are in the voting booth the next time around. Help stop the rot in this country.