The Malaysian government's arrogance knows no bound. Now the government wants to make Malaysians living overseas come back to renew their passports on the pretext that Malaysian overseas are morons, unable to think for themselves because they do not subscribe to the government's way of thinking and therefore needs to be brainwashed every now and then.

I wonder how much thought had gone into this new bizarre idea. Have the drafters of this insane order given any thought as to how much hardship it would cause? A Malaysian living overseas will have to spend invaluable time and resources to renew his or her passport instead of getting much-needed assistance and representations from his or her government in foreign lands.

This is the kind of arrogance that has brought the Malaysian government back to feudal times, when a ruler is master and the people its servants. This master-servant relationship, which has been reversed in the developed world is slowly being rolled back by the Malaysian government. Instead of the government serving the governed, the people are now being asked to serve the rulers.

Take the police and the courts, for example. The rulers have no compunction in using the division of the government that keeps public peace and safety, to intimidate and control the very people these institutions are supposed to serve. As a result, confidence and trust in these public institutions will be tarnished and tainted long after the present politicians leave their temporary stations in life. Their arrogance, however, deceives them into believing that it is their right to use and abuse these public institutions for their own purpose.

The public purse is treated like theirs. Never mind that the money comes from all hardworking Malaysians, to be spent on public interest and welfare. Never mind that these politicians' own cronies hardly contributed anything to the treasury except for making repeated and massive drawdowns. Never mind that the Malaysian public has to shoulder ridiculous risks and debts associated with numerous bailouts. Arrogance will not let these politicians realise how far they have crossed the line between public duty and public robbery.

The damage these politicians are doing to Malaysia and Malaysians is unforgivable. Malaysians are also committing an unforgivable mistake by allowing these politicians to continue wrecking public institutions and plundering the nation's treasury. The status quo would leave a legacy of easily-bought police force, untrustworthy courts and a mountain of debts to our children.

As for accountability, it was imprisoned under the ISA many years ago and has not seen the light of day since.

Malaysians must now gather their courage to wipe away arrogance and release accountability from imprisonment, not for their own sake but for the sake of generations to come. Your children will not forgive you for leaving them a shameful heritage.