Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi aspires to establish a clean, honest and transparent government. This government, he noted, must be founded on the notion of truth whether on the truth that hurts or on the truth that delights. Hence, he has encouraged his colleagues, subordinates, civil servants and politicians to relate to him facts, evidences and truths.

Judging from his sincere intent, this new behaviour should be cultivated and encouraged so that it can blossom into a permanent governance and political culture. If this materialises, it marks a positive divergence from the more than a decade-old mass cultural frenzy of the 'Malaysia Boleh!' culture.

This started as a polemical slogan to fire up our nationalism but ended up being intolerant to any criticism against our national, social, cultural and political developments. Anything we hear that is bad must be a concoction by an irresponsible party trying to sabotage our national unity and community building efforts, and the fragile national identity.

In reality, even if Pak Lah now wants to hear the truth, I am a bit skeptical if Malaysians know how to tell it, especially those who have been in the inner circle of his ruling government and many others who are drowning in the artificial 'Malaysia Boleh!' ocean awash with the rough undercurrents of the Malaysian mass media.

As such, more preliminary steps and reforms ought to be undertaken before any form of truth can be realised. At the core, the current culture arbitrary choice of revealing only what soothes the ear - which envelopes the mentality and behaviour of our people should be reoriented so that a new message is reinforced. And this, that speaking the truth does not hurt, but is commendable.

Another bad habit best left to the rubbish bin is the incessant parroting of some political leaders, mostly repeating after Pak Lah, reminding their elected representatives in the press to behave, stay clean, tell the truth, stop being an alcoholic, fulfill promises, et cetera.

It is understandable that these politicians want to show that they are responsive to the prime minister's call to shape up and perform. However, the next moment when any of their branch or division leaders were caught running the biggest vice racket in the country, a sense of denial returns to fill the air once more.

These are obstacles to Pak Lah's vision of a governance based on the foundation of truth. Hence, while his plea sounds simple, attractive, inviting and desirable, there are insurmountable challenges that lurk behind it waiting to wrestle it to the ground. Is Pak Lah committed to bring about this change?

The fact is that the real power of truth lies in its communicative power supported by the presence of a civic public sphere. This public sphere is the most basic domain of communication and cultural contestation.

The real challenge here is to create a public sphere where different ideas, perspectives, argumentations and dialogues can be forged, debated and discussed without necessary resorting to hostility and violence.

This would also be a relevant arena for the present government to discuss public policy, national issues and to draw responses and feedback from the people who would want to participate more directly and actively in nation building and development.

Higher participation of the people in governance would translate into a higher legitimacy of the government. In turn, the government could also provide legitimacy to the public sphere by recognising it as an important pillar of our national politics. It should be clarified that this civic public sphere is not synonymous with civil society but it is necessary for a civil society to come into existence.

While many critics may argue that the call to create a civic public sphere or a legitimate platform for civil society participation is not consistent with our Asian communitarian values, it is actually desirable and relevant especially in the context of a multicultural society like ours.

Issues which are classified as sensitive or taboo concerning race, culture and religion have long been embedded into our national politics and essentially the revelation of truth may impinge into these forbidden territories.

As an example, letters on Malay special rights published in malaysiakini display the long- contained grudges, tensions and uneasiness of some parts of society.

Lifting the barrier to free, open and civil discussion on this issue could help to ease the situation and may even lead to better inter-ethnic understanding of each other's fear and needs. The success of the civic public sphere, which hinges on the maturity of the society, can be proven when we can discuss sensitive issues without needing to resort to violence or threats to burn down temples, churches, mosques or the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Speaking the truth does not seem all that easy after all, but I remain optimistic and hopeful that this new administration will walk its talk.