I refer to the letter Absolute power corrupted them absolutely .

Dr V Sivapalan’s excellent letter hit many nails on their heads. He has captured what was in the minds of many of us. The absolute power of the ruling party corrupted them absolutely and their hubris led to their downfall. Let me add that if Mahathir the dictator had been in power now, we may not have seen the Barisan being denied the two thirds majority. And Anwar Ibrahim would have been languishing in prison and not seen the light of day. These events took place simply because Abdullah Ahmad Badawi `allowed' them to take place.

Mahathir the dictator ravaged this country for over 20 years, taking away our right to free speech, instilling fear, corrupting the country to the core, and depriving us of the wealth of this country by allowing it as largesse for his cronies. His arrogance filtered down to the `little Napoleons' who outdid him in his arrogance in implementing his will.

This despot's hubris continues unchecked. He had the colossal cheek to say that Samy Vellu as leader of MIC did not ask for anything for the Indians. But I want to ask, wasn’t Samy Velu put there in the first place at his behest to enrich the Malays? And I am sure Samy Vellu did ask for many things on behalf of the Indians. The only problem would have been that he would have been told to `Shut up and sit down, you are asking for too much.' They let him make a lot of money, to propitiate him, to keep him happy and wagging his tail, and so that he became their partner in crime and thus being unable to hold the moral high ground.

And he Samy Vellu, satisfied that he had done his part by asking at least, sat down and wagged his tail, happy that he got the crumbs from the table. Why Samy Vellu did you sell your soul to the devil? You would not be in this ignominious situation today if only you had the guts and pride to speak up for your people. With all the wealth that you have now, and after all these years of your so-called service to your people, did you manage to buy peace of mind and dignity in your old age?

Mahathir, engaging in his usual his vile word play, thought he was being very clever by saying that he did not jail Anwar but that the courts did. This man has such contempt for his own people. He actually thinks he is being very clever! He has consistently insulted our intelligence with his diatribes, and has consistently talked down to us. This is the kind of shameless and under-handed leader we have had for over twenty years. He and his band of brigand cabinet ministers rode roughshod over the people, especially the non-Malays, very often with barely concealed contempt for them, and most often with open contempt. His was the legacy that was continued during the days of the hapless Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Remember the kris-waving amidst cries that blood will flow? Remember the fawning exhortations by the sycophants crying `You have brandished the kris, you have kissed the kris, when will Datuk use the kris? Wah, wah, wah. And as for Abdullah, what did he do? Well, nothing much really. His crime was the crime of ‘commission by omission’. He also let his greedy family enrich themselves at the country’s expense. However, I still do think he is a cut above the diabolical cabinet of Mahathir’s crooks.

I still do think that it is because of Abdullah that partial democracy has triumphed today in Malaysia. He does not have it in him to ruthlessly engineer the elections. Had Machiavelli -Mahathir been the PM today, he may have triggered another May 13.

I call on all Malaysians from today to never, never, ever again tolerate the kind of arrogance we have been subjected to all these years at the hands of these fellows who have been mistakenly thinking they are our lords and masters. From today we will reclaim our birthright, which includes the right to liberty, freedom of expression and equality before the law. And we will remind the despicable autocrats that they have been put in their positions to serve and deliver, as our servants. They will listen when we speak our minds.

The Malays have been made pawns in the game played by these heartless, morally bankrupt politicians, solely for the purpose of enriching and empowering themselves. I am saying this from the bottom of my heart: if the Malays want to be a strong race that counts on the global stage, if they want their progeny to be a generation of winners, then they don’t need such politicians. All they need is to believe in themselves, claim their pride and dignity, and compete on a level playing field. I sincerely believe they can do this. Just go for it.

Most crucial at this juncture is that the delicate balance of racial harmony is maintained. Without that everything else will be futile. The BN will go all out to turn the Malays against the other races. They must never succeed in this. Let us not be deceived by the BN lies and start to distrust each other. If we work for the common good with our newly elected representatives we can ensure that all of us, Malays, Chinese and Indians alike, will prosper. Isn’t that what we all want?

I would like to exhort all Malays not to let these evil politicians poison your minds against the other races. If we let them win at their game we will all become abject losers – Malays, Chinese and Indians and our other brothers and sisters. Above all, let us all have generous hearts. Let us not believe in the adage ‘beggar thy neighbour’. On the contrary let us believe in ‘prosper thy neighbour’. Together we will prevail.