Recently the newspapers are full of news on our politicians. Endless scandals about sex videotapes keep surfacing and RE-surfacing. Despite PKR's success in denying BN 2/3 majority in the last elections, they seem to be falling apart at the seams. More politicians keep defecting to the ruling party and the hope that was so resurgent in all of us is fading away.

When I was young, I never thought much about politics or what our country's leaders are doing for us. Most of my childhood was under the Mahathir era, and admittedly, despite his autocratic way of ruling, he managed to keep a lot of things under wraps. Going to school, I studied under the government's approved syllabus, never questioning the things that were taught and how I would (or wouldn't) be able to apply them in my future career and life. 

Looking back, I can't believe the things that we had to go through in school. Subjects like world history were centered on the rise of Islam civilization. All throughout form 1 to form 3, I had to learn a subject called Kemahiran Hidup and being in a girls' school, had to take an elective which taught us the right way to sweep the floor, darn our socks and repair a broken toilet. Moral studies which should yield subjective thinking was graded like math or physics where 1 + 1 = 2. No creativity was encouraged at all, in fact any innovative or creative thought in the students were quashed by the impossibly rigid marking system.

After working a few years, the political situation in our country started to dawn on me. I always knew the government treated the non-Malays unfairly. But the devastatingly high level of corruption which I never knew about was being slowly revealed through a new media which was beyond the government control (unlike tv and radio and newspapers), the Internet.

Stories of our current deputy prime minister being involved in a coverup of the murder of a Mongolian model, among others, were leaked. Of course, the guy was never persecuted, that would be unimaginable. Statements given by private investigators were hastily retracted the day after they were issued.. As if there had been threats to these people's lives. People who wanted to reveal the truth.

Well, never mind this, these are all just rumors anyway, nothing can be proven, especially with a police force as corrupt as ours. But what about the way our government is being run? Inflation rates spiralling uncontrollably, bans on yoga as an exercise because of Hindu influences, raising of toll prices one day and then dropping them back to its original price the next? What kind of government says one thing one day, and then the next day says another whole damn thing? What kind of government would rather discuss laws to ban certain exercises instead of focusing on our economy and the increasing number of people who are out of their jobs or may be losing their jobs in the coming year? And not to mention all the sex scandals sprouting like mushrooms among politicians. No matter whether they're from the opposition or the ruling party, the main point is that they're all focusing on these issues (which should be private from the start) instead of doing something for the country.

Since Barack Obama came into power, I've been seeing him on CNN almost everyday discussing their economy stimulus budget, engaging in respectful and structured discussions among opposition members and democrats alike in their parliament. What has our "revered" prime minister been doing? I've never seen him on TV except when he's visiting some of the citizens during Hari Raya. Or when some pictures of him sleeping while parliament is in session are caught and put on the Internet of course. How could I forget that, silly me. And the recent "attack" on Karpal Singh when he was denied entry into parliament?? How ridiculous is that, our ruling party members acting like samseng gangsters, threatening old men in wheelchairs. 

What is this country coming to? How can I possibly raise my child in this kind of place. I really wonder...