As the present opposition to Barisan Nasional begins to fall apart, the question is - can a truly credible opposition be formed in Malaysia?

To answer that question, we have to examine the grouses against BN. The problem with forming a credible opposition is that the main unifying issue among the opposition is really cronyism rather than anything else. While PAS sees it from the Islamic religion point of view, Keadilan sees it from a human rights angle as symbolised by Anwar Ibrahim and DAP sees it from some largely non-Muslim discrimination/meritocratic point of view, the common angle is that all of them are really grumbling that they are not getting their fair share.

The problem with grumbling about cronyism is that we all know that even in the most perfect system, there will always be cronies. Even in supposedly meritocratic Singapore, the PAP machineries protect and reward its people based on political and philosophical affiliations.

It is impossible to define what is truly fair in economic term. The BN government, to its credit, has made sure that everyone got something and hence not many people are truly disenfranchised and hence economic justice cannot be clearly defined.

In modern media-driven politics, without clarity, it's impossible to rally the majority much less in multi-racial, incumbent-favouring Malaysia.

It is for the sake of clarity that PAS has fallen on Islam as it main issue, it is for clarity that Keadilan has focused on Anwar's personality as the main driving force and it is because of the lack of clarity of DAP which has made its influence dwindle over the years.

What most voters want is BN without the corruption and inefficiencies that are its baggage. However, given the vast differences in views on religion, meritocracy and racial politics, it's a daunting task to put together a team and more importantly a leadership that can make the compromises that will give Malaysians what they want.

In other words, unless the BN really messes up, it will be impossible to replace the government. Should the BN fail to bring about economic development, I shudder to think of the possible consequences!