LETTER | If you were to run a business, and you are serious about growing the business, one of the key ingredients is how to make the supplier or vendor work for you without having to scrutinise every single detail in the transaction required to achieve a quality supply.

You introduce competition because competition helps improve the supply in so many untold ways that may even surprise you.

Most of us running a business or purchasing an item or being a customer of a service are at least vaguely aware of this basic economic principle of how competition exerts pressure on the efficient use of resources to produce a better product or service.

Strangely or not so strange, it can be applied to the political process as well. A tale of two or more suppliers can easily be translated to a tale of two or more political parties

Interestingly enough, when we have power to choose, we have power over suppliers or political parties. It appears to be true, too, that during the time when our power peaks on May 9, we are being treated like honoured guests.

Notice, too, for example, to most of us, it is the only period we are being addressed as “Tuan” or “Puan” more times than we address the political leaders as such. This power we hold for only about a week, unfortunately, is potent indeed.

We must then use this great power to make a choice otherwise when the power wanes and fades, most of us will be left with our little voices that can hardly move the gigantic government machinery to our benefit.

One of the reasons is perhaps because we are taken for granted, we are like soft furry lemmings obediently heading to the edge of the cliff. So what must we do? How do we extend our power beyond the one week of the election campaign?

Fortunately, there is this idea, many leaders have talked about and I am about to share it with you here. This idea requires many furry lemmings to understand it and put the power into action. Only then will the power return to the people for a lot longer than just a mere one week.

Simply, it is that we change the vendor or the current political party ruling the government or the states. All things considered equal, at the whiff of questionable conduct or suspect of underhanded tactics or even under-performance, like a pure-bred business venture, the rational decision is to change.

If all of us understand this simple concept which works so well for business and competition. It opens up the kind of control, check and balance, transparency and accountability which most of us have been crying and whining for for years.

Imagine now poor transparency and accountability, abuse, corruption, decay, bad practice, favouritism, cronyism, poor performance etc now not lasting or leaders getting away with them.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.