We now live in a make-believe world of fantasy and illusion. We have become a state where truth and fiction have blended into one inseparable entity.

It troubled me to hear the prime minister’s announcement that Malaysia is ahead of Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom in terms of efficiency. He apparently based this on his reading of the 2007 World Competitiveness Yearbook compiled by the Swiss Business School, IMD.

But what else can you expect from someone who suffers from delusion? Our nation's problems won't just go away. Only a serious and efficient government with an able leadership – not a government with a leader who goes on holiday whenever crises emerge – can fix them.

The BN is more divided now than ever. The MCA and MIC are increasingly viewed by many people as hamba Umno and are, therefore, impotent while Umno itself is split into factions by various party barons. The PM is fast asleep, not knowing that he is losing ground within his own party and that he is too weak to manage the country.

The question is whether Abdullah will win big like he did in 2004. Malaysians now have the chance now to give him a thumping. But will we? The elections will decide, if they are truly free and fair. But we know that for sure it is not going to be a fair election.

The Election Commission chief is one arrogant chap who is well past his shelf life. And an appointment to the EC is with always made with the blessing of the ruling party. The whole country knows this.

The PM says ‘I am fair, will be fair and always be fair.’ How fair has the present government been? Look at the billions that have been spent and the millions raked in as commissions for the purchases of military and naval hardware.

Did you not read the Auditor-General's recent report on wasteful public expenditure? What has the government done? Why have only certain government officials been charged? Why not haul up the defense minister, the youth and sports minister or others and hold them fully accountable?

We have the Monsoon Cup for yachting costing RM300 million annually yet we read in our local papers about parents of young children needing urgent medical care and having to appeal to the public for donations. Is that fair to you?

The mainstream media has not only been grossly biased, but has also allowed itself to be used to spread misinformation. Journalists have thus failed in their first duty which is to report fairly.

It is often forgotten that a free and independent press is one of the pillars of a truly functioning democracy. We need responsible journalism in our country more than ever. At the same time, we need to abolish the Printing Presses and Publications Act, which grants the internal security minister almost absolute power to decide the fate of any paper which is critical of the government.

The opposition parties must be united around a common a cause. At the moment, the only common goal is ridding the country of a corrupt and inept government, helmed by Umno and its lackeys.

A simple cause that could rally the different parties under one leadership is the issue of racial division. Anwar Ibrahim is definitely playing the main role in uniting the opposition.

Just do your basic democratic duty: sack the politicians who have proven themselves corrupt and incompetent. Why not? If other countries can do it, why can't we? If Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand can do it, why can't we?

To those who have misgivings about Anwar, I am not defending him. History reminds me that many movers and shakers did not start out as saints. But something happened and they became transformed. So let's put the past where it belongs and give the man a shot. It's the only hope we have amid the desperation and despair.