Phew! What a week it has turned out to be. Just as the mainstream press finished lauding Pak Lah's 100 days in office in predictable glorious terms - just as they use to sing the praises of his predecessor for the last 22 years - events unfurled with a momentum that for a moment the spread of the catastrophic bird flu roiling the region appeared to be a tad slow.

First came the shocking news that a Malaysian company, Scomi Precision Engineering, has been identified as a part of a chain, no matter how insignificant, in the supply of nuclear equipment to 'rogue nations'. Predictably, denials and investigations ensued. A few days later, Bush joined the bandwagon, mentioning Malaysia several times in a speech that also mentioned Pakistan, Iran, Libya, North Korea. Not exactly a honors' roll call.

Suffice to say Scomi is no ordinary company: its shareholders are the latest movers and shakers of Malaysia's corporate scene including Kamaluddin, the prime minister's son, and Azman Yahya (formerly head of Danaharta).

Scomi of course has now become a byword for "hitting it big time" with its share price rising from an IPO price of about RM1.40 to a dizzying RM13 when the news broke, that is, if you received 10 lots at the IPO, your cash outlay would be about RM14,000, which would have been worth a whopping RM130,000. No wonder, every stock market punter is looking out for the next 'Scomi' on the KLSE, as they might have for a UEM or Renong in a different era.

While this drama was being played out, the arrest of Eric Chia hit the headlines (all the major newspapers carried that headline clearly omitted the 'Tan Sri' lest it might conjure of uncomfortable images that this man was once a close business confidante of the administration). Just as this was sinking in with questions on everyone's mind as to how far Eric Chia will go with his testimony, came the arrest of Land and Cooperative Minister Kasitah Gaddam.

While the long overdue clean-up is much welcomed, the mainstream media has gone to town with full coverage of the events as if they have been somehow responsible for the positive turn of events. No way. Not after the ridiculous coverage and the way-over-the-top send-off of the previous PM who had long past his sell-by date, while turning a blind eye as the rot was setting in.

The victory goes to online publications such as malaysiakini (take a bow) and especially to the various opposition parties, including one near disabled man in Sungai Buloh, for keeping the Perwaja and other vital issues alive, for making Perwaja a byword for corporate malfeasance, and not for steel.

Against such overwhelming odds, they continued to make their case ranging from corporate corruption to police brutality. How ironical then that The Sun (Feb 13) on page two carried an article that Keadilan is marred by infighting and its reformasi zeal fading into oblivion? By the arrests this week, and the various commissions established, the opposition parties have succeeded far more than even they realise.

Still there is much to do. A daunting tasks awaits to rid of, to paraphrase Hamlet, "Something rotten in the state".