The dismissal of the appeals against the conviction (1) of ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja has resulted in the expected response from all quarters: The Appeal Court upheld their convictions and rejected their demands for bail, while Anwar's supporters from the reformasi camp immediately accused the government of ' kezaliman ' (cruelty). o­nce again pejorative terms such as "Mahazalim", "Mahakejam" and "Mahafir'aun" have made a comeback, notably o­n the numerous websites that dot the infinite reaches of cyberspace.

As if the dismissal of Anwar and Sukma's appeal was not sad enough, the Malaysian public now has to endure the tirade of sentimental hogwash and bile that is making its rounds in the Internet sites and chat-rooms.

Browsing through these sites over the past week with a bowlful of anti-depressants and aspirin close at hand, I was saddened to see how little has changed in the country over the past few years. Increasingly it appears as if the radical dislocation that had set in during the 1998 political crisis was but a chimera, an illusion of rupture and excess, that was contained and domesticated as soon as it was let loose from the box.