As an ordinary Malaysian who is not a member of any political party, I find the performance of Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi very disappointing.

When Abdullah was first appointed to replace Anwar Ibrahim, I thought I should give the former an opportunity since he was picked by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad. I thought Abdullah would be less authoritarian than Mahathir, and he would open up a new era of democratic, human rights and economic reform for the good of the nation and the people.

However, Abdullah disappointed me when he, as a Home Minister, signed the detention orders of Tian Chua, Mohammad Ezam and the other four reformasi leaders. And then he allowed the police to abuse the Internal Security Act (ISA) again and again. The appointed second-in-command seems to be a puppet of the equally unelected police headquarters and Special Branch.

Where the economy is concerned, there is no structural improvement. Abdullah does not seem to know anything concrete about economics and finance. He always seemed to be merely reading texts prepared by the unelected bureaucrats controlled by the PM and Finance Minister (Mahathir).

Abdullah also disappoints me because he does not seem to be playing the role of the 'moderator' in Mahathir's governance. On the contrary, he slavishly echoes every word of his boss. Surely, that is not what we want of a leader who will manage a democratic Malaysia. Abdullah is merely an instrument of a group of corrupt men living in the past, and living off past glories.

Malaysians, in my humble opinion, should look for a more creative, independent-minded, energetic and democratic leader in the post-Mahathir period so that we can all get rid of past abuses and excesses in human rights and the economy. The people must be more willing to take political risk to get a replacement as soon as possible, or we shall forever be stagnant in stability.