Too much has been said on the issue of the Islamic state to the extent that it has doomed the partnership of DAP and PAS. But who should be blamed? Politicians are mere mirrors of society, in that they act to win votes. To win votes, they have to play the 'tunes' dictated by the public.

However, as a result of all these quibbles, BA seems to be forgetting its immediate role as an opposition party - to scrutinise and question government policy. Shouldn't the opposition aim to have the people at heart?

Malaysia has a long way to go towards political maturity. We can see this when political parties are controlled like a 'family business' where a small group of leaders do whatever they like and are allowed to do so, not only by their followers, but by the general public.

Sometimes when I read about Malaysian politics, I feel that I'm reading a gangster story, full of plots and twists, where the 'big guns' tussle and wrestle for power. But who pays the political price? It is always the poor.

Why do people fight so hard for power? Some seem to be willing to die for it. We seem to have been led by crude, materialistic egotism centred on the self following nothing but vain desires. But perhaps we are simply living in a world in which most human beings cannot behave responsibly.

However, we as a people do not seem compassionate and wise in our dealings and our actions are often abrasive, hostile and self-righteous.

I think the only way out of this predicament is by taking on a transformative spiritual life based both on the outer (zahir) and inner (batin) self purification, which is only possible by actively changing ourselves to be better human beings.

Life is not only about power and money, and even if it is, it does not last forever.