I write in respond to the views expressed by Pelita Negara in his 'Politicians should not fear scrutiny'.

The layman's view that the "political arena is a dirty place" may not be far from the truth. The sad truth of the matter is that more often than not, political power brings out the worse in humans, hence, the maxim that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" in the corridor of political power.

Politicians themselves belong to a class of their own. Many amateur politicians begin their careers filled with idealism and dreams but over the years end up with sheer arrogance and foolishness. Honest and straight-talking politicians have indeed become a rare breed that seldom survive the dawn of another general election.

Pelita Negara hit the right note when he viewed that politicians should not fear public scrutiny. When a leader has the guts to criticise the world, he must also be prepared to be scrutinised by his own countrymen. In our country, our political culture is far from ideal. Just as Pelita Negara has remarked, our politicians rarely call it a day even when they make grave mistakes in their leadership.

This is one of the serious contributing factors, that many older generations are completely disillusioned with the situation today while the young professionals of today shun politics. In short, they cannot find relevance to the politics of today, neither do they care about the type of leadership affecting their lives as they prefer to enhance their material and career pursuits. Similarly, politicians find it difficult to relate to the mindsets of the younger generation.

Many political parties find great difficulties in recruiting younger members into their parties' fold. It is not surprising. Politics in the 50s and 60s with a different generation of leaders have come and gone. Many older generations still living today have sentimental memories of the older generation of leaders whom they believe belonged to a different class. They were committed to multiracialism, loyal in their service to the rakyat, liberal and tolerant in political thoughts, wise in actions and living up to their principles.

It is time that Malaysians should be less forgetful and think seriously about the type of leadership we want. It is time to express the type of political cultures we want in this country. It is time that the voting process be taken seriously to select the type of leaders we want to serve us and not their vested interests. It is time that Malaysians should not place our voting preferences blindly and assess our leaders or general election candidates with greater scrutiny.

Vote wisely with your eyes wide open. Determine your own platform of issues and not be swayed by the publicity machinery of political parties. A fool seldom lives twice of their own follies.