The three most popular requests from malaysiakini readers for new premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi are: the right to vote their own local councillors, prioritise the basic need for clean, potable water ahead of mammoth development projects and return to clean, transparent and independently monitored elections.

Requests have been flooding the newsroom since Thursday, when the new premier took over the reigns of the government from Dr Mahathir Mohamad who led the country for 22 years.

These responses followed a street poll conducted by malaysiakini last week in which 15 Malaysians spoke on what they think should be Abdullah's top three priorities.

Many readers expressed disdain for the deplorable performance of local governments since the discontinuation of local council elections in 1965.

The enactment of the Local Government Act 1971 determined that councillors will only be appointed.

"It is of no use having a ministry by the name of 'local government' when local governance is way below expectations," said reader Stanley Koh in his e-mail.

"Bring back local council elections, bring back democracy and accountability at the grassroots," he added.

From having the right to determine where their trash will end up, the freedom of speech, organisation and religion, readers mainly focused on how their lives have become increasing disempowered in recent year despite the growing GDP.

Incinerator project

Another reader Sam Hui said the new prime minister should move his official residence to Broga for a whiff of how 'fresh' the air can get.

Broga is the site for the proposed billion-ringgit incinerator project , which has met stiff resistance from residents in the vicinity who fear the health hazards.

Hui also suggested that Abdullah should drink unfiltered tap water to see how it tastes.

Despite being blessed with heavy rainfall, dry spells and dirty water are common especially in the peninsular.

Following the privatisation of state water agencies, prices have escalated but the quality of the water has largely remained unchanged.

Lie detector

ER Samuel, in his e-mail, said Abdullah should remind bureaucrats and government servants to be aware of the terms of their service - be accountable to irregularities and enforce laws without bias.

He also urged the new prime minister to direct all Barisan Nasional backbenchers to sit through a lie detector test to filter out those with financial and personal scandals to hide.

Calling for an end to corruption was Lagup, who said: Stop corruption, especially those involving the 'invincible' few in Sarawak."

While Mohd Fadzil urged the government to fulfill the people's basic needs instead of concentrating on 'ter projects' such as bendera terbesar (largest flag) and bangunan tertinggi (tallest building).

Lee Siew Hwa expressed concern over the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies, which have brought about informalisation of the workforce and in turn greater vulnerability for workers.

She called on Abdullah "not repeat the anti-workers' policies that were heavily implemented during Dr Mahathir's time."

The new premier was also urged to look into the issue of electoral transparency.

In his e-mail, Eng Hann said Abdullah should permit postal votes to be monitored by not just the Elections Commission but other independent bodies and political parties.