Abu Mubarak's letter Selangor voters best bet for change would never have seen the light of day 10 years ago. Today, the rakyat are more educated, more informed, and more exposed. Credit should be given also to Pak Lah's style of a more open society after the tyrannical years under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

A mature democracy in Malaysia would mean, as Abu Mubarak said, an opportunity for the opposition to lead the country. The question is, can we depend on the Royal Malaysian Police and the other peacekeeping forces in Malaysia to uphold the rights of the citizen and the constitution?

Are they truly independent, serving the nation and the rakyat first or are they beholden to the ruling party, the Barisan Nasional? If and when power is transferred, would it be a peaceful transition of power as we see in mature democracies? Or will we see chaos and disturbances instigated by the ruling elite?

The fact that there are letters from Malaysians thinking about this possibility is most encouraging.