Is our simple life as 'rakyat Malaysia' any better then it was five years ago? It is after all a very simple question to gauge the success of the current administration who promised the sky but only reached for the ceiling. The PM said he would announce the general elections only once he has fulfilled all his promises.

My monthly salary has only increased 4 percent per annum in the last three years. The toll in the Kesas highway has increased a whopping 50 percent. In general, toll rates for roads would have increased between 10 percent to 50 percent depending on which highway one takes. Petrol prices have gone up by 30 percent. My simple plate of noodles has gone from RM2.80 to RM3.50; a whopping 25 percent. Since then, Tenaga has increased its power tariffs as well.

I have had to pay RM40 a month for neighbourhood security so that I can sleep in peace at night. Snatch thefts and burglary are so common now that they no longer make news. My wife and children were in the middle of a shootout at a major shopping complex in the middle-class suburb of Subang. We are now hesitant to go to that shopping mall.

I have seen, and experienced, government servants who hold the power to approve or disapprove certain permits or licences soliciting for money. Corruption has become more rampant and even if the political leaders deny it, the rakyat can feel it and know it has gotten worse.

I have to donate money for a returfing of the school field and then the building of a school hall. The education system has deteriorated so much, it is now common to go for private education. Our children are being 'experimented' on and we do not take kindly to this. Malaysia has nothing to boast about - unlike in the years past, we could at least say that we had a first- class school and tertiary education system. Today, our schools lack modern educational and sports facilities, good and dedicated teachers.

We have racial tensions in our society and sensitive religious issues in the courts. We have bigoted statements made by political leaders which frighten the minority races in the country.

Some will say this is a pessimistic outlook on the state of affairs, but if one were to look at the current situation, it would not be wrong to say that the nation is rudderless. We have lost a sense of leadership from those living in the palaces of Putrajaya.