It was good to read a new letter by Umar Mukhtar after such a long time (' Love or loathe Anwar, do separate law from politics '). His thoughts resonate, especially now with regards to politics and the judiciary.

Unfortunately the prime minister of the last 22 years, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has mixed politics into every aspect of our civil life. The privatisation of public utilities and transport, the management of Proton, Malaysian Airlines, Renong, Petronas and the banks have all been influenced by Malaysian politics.

As a result we the people in the last 22 years have inherited a rotten education system with more than 60 percent of ethnic Chinese in Chinese-type schools and a substantial number of Malays in Sekolah Agama Rakyat, or private Islamic-type schools.

The law enforcement which was once among the best of Southeast Asia is now reportedly the most corrupt government agency in Malaysia. The judiciary, once also respected in the region and the world is now not a respected place where Malaysians can find justice.

Proton makes shoddy cars as per the letter written by MinahKampung, ' When life gives you lemons, drive a Proton '. Only Proton cars are forced to open their doors when they arrive at a toll booth. Malaysian Airlines service has deteriorated yet again after a short period of improvement.

We have a public transport in Kuala Lumpur that equals any other third world country. Filthy buses, non-connecting bus to train services, high costs, and inefficiency. The water in Kuala Lumpur was once potable out of the taps, today the colour looks like it came straight out of the Klang river.

If politics were left out of decision-making when tenders are called and contracts awarded, I think the rakyat will have better services and facilities. One day perhaps, when government is there to govern and not play politics we shall see a reversal of all the injustices that goes on today.