I agree with the Wan Sou Hai's scepticism of Keadilan as "not race-based, but justice-based" (BA fall short of expectations). An earlier email of mine did make mention of Keadilan as nothing more than a single-issue party, that of campaigning to free Anwar Ibrahim.

Before the anti-Barisan National (BN) or anti-Mahathir supporters get carried away with fantasising the political hopes that a free Anwar Ibrahim and a politically dominant Keadilan would bring, we need to remind ourselves that he was the deputy prime minister, the deputy president of Umno and the anointed heir to Dr Mahathir. Dr Wan Azizah was expected to be the First Lady of Malaysian politics. Mr Anwar's aides and supporters were poised to dominate Umno, Malay-Malaysian politics and indeed the cabinet.

If Anwar Ibrahim had not fallen by the wayside o­n the eve of his political ascendancy he would be where Dr Mahathir is. As the could-be prime minister, he would undoubtedly be defending the status quo, and strongly supported by his then-Umno cohorts.

One would acknowledge that then, in the midst of outpouring public sympathy for Dr Wan Azizah following the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim, Keadilan possessed that golden opportunity to emerge as a powerful political counter to Umno, and perhaps to change the Malaysian political landscape. Regretfully, it squandered all that by being timid and subservient to PAS religious-political campaign. It allowed PAS to hijack all the anti-BN sympathy meant for Keadilan.

I feel sorry for those without former Umno ties in Keadilan, who believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.