There are times when one feels that the Orwellian state has arrived for good in Malaysia. Just when the country is abuzz with talk of 'Islam Hadhari' and 'Progressive Islam', the Malaysian public is forced to witness now-familiar U-turns that can only be described as shameful and obscene.

On Merdeka Day (Aug 31) it was none other than the prime minister himself, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who articulated his vision of the future and the common destiny of the Malaysian people. His statement that "no Malaysian should think that he or she is more Malaysian than others" struck a chord with many other fellow citizens, both in and out of his party.

It seemed as if the country was finally under the leadership of a leader who was willing to break away from the crass and repugnant communitarian politics of the past. Even those who have been long-time opponents of the Umno party and the BN coalition it leads had to agree with the prime minister's statement - at least in principle.

Less charitable sceptics however would argue that we should wait and see before jumping to hasty conclusions. They point out that during his first years in office the previous prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad was likewise seen and regarded as a 'reformist' PM in his own way, keen to demonstrate his commitment to cutting down a top-heavy civil service, to reform the mindset of the Malays, to open up some public space for a (relatively) free press to emerge, and so forth.

The brief 'democratic experiment' of the early Mahathir era ended soon enough, and by the time of the mass arrests of NGO activists, academics and opposition leaders in 1987 (during Operation Lallang) we all knew that rhetoric had encountered the brick wall of institutional inertia.