The recently concluded 11th general election saw the return of Malay support for Umno. Or is it so?

Under current circumstances, it is easy to doubt the authenticity of the election results. The Election Commission failed miserably in playing their role as a free and fair body to govern the polling process.

Do Malays really support Umno? It is hard to figure out the minds of the Malays. I myself being a Malay am caught up in a dilemma - the impressive showing of Pak Lah as the new prime minister against the bad record of corruption and mismanagement often associated with the governing party.

Nevertheless, the hope of seeing a governance based on justice under Pak Lah seems short-lived - all the discrepancies during the election confirms my doubt that an 'invisible hand' is pulling all the strings of the EC.

What's with the outcry this year? Laymen on the streets even question the election process, even though those who have tread the political line before this year surely have seen more, even worse cases, compared to what has arisen this time around.

Malays are a pampered lot. We tend to remain in our comfort zone and fear failure. Fear of failure, fear of an unstable or harsh life. To simplify - we Malays dare not raise a finger to question the wrongdoing of others. We berbudi bahasa but we often digress. In the end, all the budi and all the bahasa are being used back against us right under our noses.

Development? Is this the main reason why the Malays opted for the BN? This the one reason I firmly fail to comprehend, considering the gap between urban and rural dwellers is getting bigger by the day.

Taking a walk downtown Kuala Lumpur on weekends will present me with a view of morally corrupt youths with a big question hanging over their identity. Are they Negroes? Are they American pop stars? Are they the Rastas from Jamaica? Or are the just plain, bored Malays?

Schoolgirls lighting up a cigarette everywhere, with some boys and girl holding a Jack Daniels here and there. I even lost count of the number of belly buttons on display in the national capital.

Umno, seeing this trend of the youths, played the role of encouraging them further in playing the card that this form of 'freedom' and 'fun' will be lost if ever the opposition came to power.

Which raises the question - is this really 'freedom?' If this is what that needs to be done to make sure the Malays remain 'free', then I would rather live in the shackles of family values and religious governance.

When I have my kids and my own my family and I will not live amongst these morally indecent people. Better off to Ceruk To' Kun. Losing my family to a corrupt society is not an option I'm willing to take.

I pity the future of Malaysia, and in saying so, I see a dark cloud hanging over the future of the Malays. Until we break free from our subsidised and protected lives, the Malays will continue to be weak, and our weakness will come to haunt us one day.