'Terlajak perahu boleh undur, terlajak kata buruk padahnya', this was the first thing that crossed my mind when the deputy internal security minister lost his cool and told foreign visitors not to come to this country if they felt unwelcome or unsafe.

It is a good thing that his boss has reprimanded him for this uncalled for outburst as his statement has contradicted government policy to promote tourism as a revenue earner for this nation. How can a deputy minister lose his cool during a press conference if he aspires for a higher post in the party and cabinet?

We seem to have first-class 'infrastructure' but a third-class brains among our leaders leading this country with most of them tending to shoot from the hip without thinking of the consequences. After a furore has been raised, the old mantra, that they 'have been misquoted', will be their song to douse the fire of the controversy.

Political leaders should go for a refresher course on how to speak intelligently and articulately while at the same time improving on their writing skills.

Really, except for our former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and Culture, Arts and Heritage Miniser Rais Yatim, I have yet to see or hear of any other top gun who can write and speak as eloquently as them. Most of our politicians are rabble-rousers who only raise a lot of hot air in the august house without going to the root cause of the problems.

In the meantime, the nation and its populace suffers due to inflation, corruption and abuse of power. To top that, our ship is being led by a captain who does not want to rock the boat by removing the tainted and the corrupt due to reasons best known to him

As regards to the unfortunate incidents, Malaysian history had shown that after a few days, the storm will subside. Does anyone remember the AP controversy, the rape of the Bukit Cahaya forest reserve or the computer lab fiascos which caused the loss of millions of government funds?.

Hopefully, things will improve for the better in the new year as compared to this year. Annus horribilis would be apt words to describe our political scene in 2005.