We can blame all the Napoleons, big or small. The problem is that there are too many of them. They believe that their incompetence can be covered up through an exhibition of power. Fundamentally, there is a lack of leadership and this has much to do with the culture currently prevalent within the administration.

Go to any government department of your choice except where the counters have to open by 8am. There will be a good number of staff clocking in and then going for their breakfast. The culture of having breakfast and then coming to work is no more the norm.

By the time they turn up at their workplace it would be around 9am. Work then starts. At some 'majlis daerah' offices that I have been to, staff will work for an hour and at about 10am they go out to do their banking work. By the time they return, it will be about 1am. Another 90 minutes of work and they are out picking up their children from school.

No one dares to take a stand. If the head is rotten then what more can you expect? Alternatively, there is no leadership so everyone does what they like. Anyone who dares to complain will find the entire group making your life miserable or your application difficult to process. If someone from within the department says something, then he is worried of the 'bomoh' and the charms that could destroy his life and his peace.

So life goes on within the Malaysian civil service and everyone is civil about it. I can bet you that the targets of the 9th Malaysia Plan will not be met because there is no leadership ready to risk bringing in the discipline and change. Whether it is Rukunegara, Vision 2020, Islamic values in administration or Islam Hadhari - change ultimately has to take place in the individual. Pronouncement and ideals in themselves do not achieve change. They only add to the cynicism because these are not backed by the courage of conviction and therefore lack application.

At the end of the day, the PM has to take the lead. A few firm actions by the administration will make the difference. He can start with the Royal Malaysian Police Force. However, after two commissions what has happened? Where is the will and the determination? I expected someone who speaks of Islam Hadhari to have more spine then he has shown. So I am disillusioned and cynical. With China and India on the upbeat, we will soon move down to become a more corrupt under-developed society by 2020.We can only blame ourselves for our under-achievements.