I refer to the Malaysiakini report Anwar files libel suit against aide .

Is it any wonder that Malaysians were politically apathetic for so long? If you ever had any hope and dreams for our nation, they are at best battered in the storms that have buffeted us constantly in recent decades.

A Malaysian who cares for their home is one who knows heartbreak and disappointment as good friends.

Fifty-one years after independence, the integrity of the election system remains compromised. The independence of the judiciary, let alone the media, is questionable.

Legislation once introduced to combat communists at the height of the Cold War is instead used as a means to silence proud citizens who dare express their opinions.

Even more shamefully, the terms of the political debate have been lowered yet again to the gutter - for Anwar is accused yet again of supposedly sodomising an aide.

This is the best means the leadership can cook up in their attempts to undermine an opposition leader. It only underlines the poverty of their intellects that they sink so low to revive the most inane and grossly homophobic of allegations.

Needless to say, this episode reveals their disdain for the intellect of their electorate. Ordinary Malaysians are struggling to make ends meet amid surging prices. The ringgit is weakening and inflation is already expected to hit a nine-year high this month.

This economic turmoil is no priority for the government, as we see them instead focusing their energy and time on attacking the opposition. At best, this indicates that they do understand just how quickly their grip on power is weakening.

But it also demonstrates that they care nothing for the rakyat - prizing above all, their desire for power. All they have shown us with this episode is that they are completely out of touch in these troubled times.

Unwittingly, they have only shortened their political life span.

It is only fitting here to quote British Parliamentarian Leo Amery's damning speech to the House of Commons as he urged Neville Chamberlain's resignation after the German invasion of Norway - the very words that Oliver Cromwell spoke to the Long Parliament.

Is the parallel not clear? Our nation is at a turning point and we are desperately in need of strong responsible leadership.

And so, as Amery spoke: ‘You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go’.