The arrests of a big businessman and a minister for alleged corruption is certainly good news in a land where corruption and abuses of public trust had been, for the past 22 years, justified as 'necessary evils' for our 'economic development' and the 're-distribution of incomes and wealth'.

However, while we should welcome this little change, we must not forget two other equally important facts which form the larger picture.

First, how far and how deep will the anti-corruption drive go, or will be tolerated by the ruling elites and other less disposable political businessmen, before they strike back again like in the 'plot' against former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim?

For example, would Abdullah order a re-opening of the cases of Rafidah Aziz and Rahim Thamby Chik which were lodged by Keadilan's Youth chief, Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor? Poor Ezam was jailed for violating the Official Secrets Act because he dared to expose the matter. What a perversion of justice!

Will Abdullah set up a Truth Commission to comprehensively investigate all the abuses of powers (like the 1987 Operation Lalang mass arrests) and public resources by Mahathir's 22-year regime?

Second, corruption is not the only problem in this corrupt, decadent and oppressive society: what about the Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Universities and University Colleges Act, Sedition Act, Akujanji and a whole gamut of repressive laws and legislation that only serve to protect the corrupt, decadent and despotic, while victimise the honest, upright and free spirits?

What about the continued monopoly and manipulation of the mainstream media (including the MCA-controlled Chinese-language media) to the advantage of Umno, MCA, MIC and the ruling elites? Shouldn't these infrastructures of mass deception in Malaysia be dismantled so that the people are free to think, speak, write and debate?

What about the colonial institutions of race-based parties like Umno, MCA and MIC? Should these remnants of the former regime of British colonialism and imperialism be swept into the limbo of history to build a new Malaysia that is truly multiethnic, multireligious and multicultural?