The Multimedia Super Corridor project (MSC) suffered a blow when the police raided

malaysiakini's office. Now we have another raid , this time at the Palm Court condominium, Brickfields, KL, where some 200 IT professionals and lecturers who are Indian nationals, many of whom work in MSC companies, were rounded up.

Most of the workers were later released because they had the necessary visas passports and papers.

The first raid generated protests

from international media organisations; the second, a brewing diplomatic row with India. Both raids cast a shadow o­n the MSC, the prime minister's pet project.

DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang commented that the raid o­n Palm Court was the "final object lesson to the Malaysian government of the urgent need for a total re-orientation of the police, immigration and the entire civil service if Malaysia is serious in wanting to become an IT powerhouse at the cutting edge of information and communications technology".

Ironically just the other day, Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also home minister, decried

that we have first world infrastructure (MSC?) but third world mentality (ill-conceived raids?).

It is noteworthy that twice, when the prime minister was temporarily out of the country, the MSC suffered negative publicity of ill-advised raids. o­ne wonders what will happen to MSC when he steps down in October.

From the way things are going, Dr Mahathir Mohamad may have to defer his retirement as the MSC which is supposed to usher Malaysia into the K-economy era may itself be 'KO'-ed soon.