I refer to the Malaysiakini report Let's clean up BN and Umno: Dr M .

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked the rakyat not to vote for ‘deadwood’ and to cleanse the BN and Umno. If it was that easy, wouldn’t it have been done by now? If all it takes is for the rakyat to vote against certain BN candidates, it would have been done during his time.

Unfortunately, this is not going to happen and here are some reasons why:

  1. The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), once an independent body, was kept under control by Mahathir during his tenure. It is a toothless tiger with loyalties to the prime minister.

  • The Election Commission chief is a BN man who was chosen for that reason. He overlooks clear breaches of rules when committed by BN candidates. The rakyat has no confidence that corruption during the election will be kept in check under his watch. The borders of constituencies are systematically drawn and redrawn to ensure that the opposition never wins. Again, the EC chief's loyalty is to no one other than the BN prime minister.

  • The Royal Malaysian Police clearly show bias against opposition parties – this was especially clear during the Ijok by-election. There is no avenue for the rakyat to show discontent, as the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) is quick to quash any peaceful assembly. They do not serve the rakyat , they serve the political party.

  • The judiciary is now in question as the executive selects judges and does not need to explain to anyone why it selects those individuals. The executive is accountable to no one.

  • The media are all owned in part by Umno and the MCA and are greatly influenced by these political parties. The rakyat have no other way of voicing their discontent with government and are not given the space to experience viewpoints other than those of the government's propaganda.

  • The BN has full control of Parliament, and whatever is of importance to the people is brushed aside to make room for their own agenda. The people do not really have a voice in Parliament. Their MPs debates are a joke and a shame to a developing country like Malaysia.

  • The use of the ISA puts fear into Malaysians, and many still today live in fear of being hounded by the Special Branch. Operation Lallang succeeded in putting the fear of the BN in the hearts of Malaysians.

    • So, you see, all kinds of checks and balances have been systematically crushed under the influence and power of the executive.

    The rakyat has no voice, no power and no means of raising issues affecting us. In fact, as Mahathir found out himself, a simple citizen really has no way of voicing his opinion if they contradict the government's views.

    So where do we take these frustrations? To the streets, but even to this premier and his ministers say we cannot do it. So where do we let out our frustrations?

    There is no way the BN government will ever cleanse itself because the people don't matter. Arrogance will continue, as it did during Mahathir's time. Umno and the BN will kill this country through corruption and graft, and the people will suffer.

    Thanks in no small part to the former PM who destroyed whatever dignity there was in the government with his arrogance and pride, so that we are left with nothing. Bleak, isn't it?