Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has recently taken a few measures, including amending the party constitution to make UMNO more dynamic, making good use of the “1Malaysia” concept to attack Pakatan Rakyat's political domain of non-Malay votes, as well as declaring 16 Sept as the national public holiday to cater to the expectations of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. Could BN retrieve the four states and the two-thirds majority in the next general elections under the painstaking efforts of Najib?

Pakatan Rakyat tried to resolve the Selangor Government's internal contradictions before the Bagan Pinang by-election but no other action has been taken since then. It reflected that a party is enthusiastic while the other one is stagnant.

Perhaps, Bagan Pinang is a special constituency but there may be many similar constituencies throughout the country. We cannot deny the possibility of BN's revitalisation if Pakatan Rakyat is unable to come out with a clearer political platform and move forward as a team, but to have more conflicts and disputes.

However, “1Malaysia” is not a magical slogan that can solve all the country's and BN's problems. BN will need to work harder in order to regain the people's support. For example, law and order has not significantly improved, the national economy is not yet out of the shadow, the management of government agencies has not yet achieved the professional standard and human rights issues are still being neglected.

The 2008 Auditor-General's Report has again revealed a number of managerial abuses, including the use of RM30,000 to buy a pole platform that costed only RM990. If the managerial problems are not resolved, sooner or later they will become a victory obstruction for BN. Moreover, the BN Government must prove that the “1Malaysia” concept can really be implemented.

As for Pakatan Rakyat, the victory of the 8 March general elections has only outlined a beautiful scene of “entering Putrajaya” and Pakatan Rakyat does not put in much efforts to realise the ideal. Many people are still having a blind faith in central leaders. The strategy of holding political talks and giving passionate speeches used in the previous general elections has gradually lost its effectiveness.

As the highest leader of Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has done less than Najib over the past one and a half year. He frequently went abroad and has forgotten that Malaysia is the political base of Pakatan Rakyat. He could only be seen in rural areas when there was a by-election. Anwar must spend more time and efforts to strengthen Pakatan Rakyat, frame measures to deal with disciplinary problems, and resolve factional disputes through leadership. The contradiction between Sabah and central leaders shows that PKR has swept many issues under the carpet after the general elections.

BN is looking for a way to improve while Pakatan Rakyat is unstable 19 months after the general elections. Both of them are trying to do something in order to beat the other party but they do not carry out any substantial internal change to enhance their political levels. As a result, the political chaos has shifted from the confrontation between the two coalitions to the internal conflicts and power struggles of individual parties. And the people are feeling sick of some politicians who are actually lack of principles and ethics.

The country needs a new and sound political system to overcome the national crisis and purify politics in the country and political parties. Only by doing so, Malaysians are able to get rid of illusory political bubbles and find the country a way out. A political slogan is far from enough. (By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)