In view that this is likely Dr Mahathir Mohamad's last term in office, it is high time he institutes professionalism into government and politics. By separating civil servants and politicians from business, not only will corruption (the source of Umno/Barisan Nasional popularity) be reduced and the performance of the government improved, even bumiputra businessmen themselves will perform better.

By insisting that elected officials and civil servants cannot be actively involved in business, the money politics in Umno will be dealt a huge blow.

However, elected officials and top civil servants should be well-paid like in Singapore and Hong Kong so that not only will the government attract talented people but maintain the Umno/BN power base. In fact, Umno/BN will widen its power base over time because politicians/civil servants and businessmen will be two groups of people instead of just one.

Separating business from government and politics will improve the bumiputra businessmen because those businessmen will have to be professional. No longer depending solely on political clout, the bumiputra businessmen cannot survive by selling contracts and mixing political support with contracts, and would be forced to focus on activities they are good at.

Separating business from government/politics is standard practice in most successful countries. In Malaysia, it is clear there is not enough professionalism in both government and bumiputra businesses as a result of mixing politics/government and business.

Under Mahathir, this mix has been the new source of Umno power base but today has become its source of weakness. It is high time, the two are separated for the good of both the government and bumiputra businesses.