Nearly four months since the general election, the common people can well gauge the performances of the states control by the opposition front. While the Pakatan ship is still new and the captain and crew members still inexperienced in running a new ship in stormy weather, at least it is sailing without its crew jumping ship to a bigger vessel.

On the other side of the spectrum, the big ship of BN - which is full of holes and tainted sailors and captain - can be likened to Titanic on the verge of sinking. Its crew members and helpless captain are just sailing in uncharted waters without any direction. Most crew members are just waiting to jump ship when the time is right.

Thomas Jefferson's, the third president of the US who penned its Declaration of Independence once said the art of governing consist simply of being honest, exercising common sense, following principles and doing what is right and just. Jefferson also stated that he trembles when he thinks that God is just.

Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament and assembly person need to observes such protocols with the power bequeathed upon them by the rakyat during the last polls if they still want to remain in power after the next general election or better still take over the federal government in the near future.

While some people are grumbling that the opposition front has failed to deliver on most of its election pledges, the flip side is that BN, who is lead by Umno, is no better.

Political infighting in Umno is getting our present leaders distracted from the real issues affecting our country like rampant corruptions and the spiraling rise of prices of goods and services due to the hefty price increase for fuel.

It doesn’t help either that the heir apparent of the present premier is embroiled in a private scandal which can derail his ambition to take over the premiership when Pak Lah steps down.

Although the private eye investigator, P Balasubramaniam, has retracted his sworn statement earlier that the deputy premier was said to be involved with the murdered Mongolian woman, this does not convince a cynical public that there might be more than meets the eye in this serious matter.

To think that the private investigator has somehow disappeared smells of a conspiracy of the highest order.

The head honcho of Pakatan Rakyat might be charged in court with sodomy if ‘enough evidence’ is obtained by our police force. But his ardent supporters who believe that he was framed on the first sodomy charge nearly a decade ago will go to the streets and protest if he is charged again for the same crime.

Looking at the big picture, snap polls are the only solution to get out of our political mess. . Political stability is a prerequisite for foreign funds to come into our country to keep our economy moving which in turn can keep unemployment among our graduates at bay.

The public, unlike before, have a choice of choosing a government from two major coalitions unlike before. If and when snap polls are held, make sure we choose the right coalition that can lead us to a better harbour rather than the one we are facing now.

But BN with their internal problems would commit political suicide if snap polls were held now as the ground sentiment is against them. However the choice is not up to the present leadership to remain in power until the next polls as the present government needs a strong majority in parliament to govern effectively and the only way out is through a snap poll.

Time is the essence here; Anwar Ibrahim had predicted that come Sept 16, a new government lead by him will be formed after a number of BN reps jump ship to Pakatan.

Whether the de facto leader of the opposition front is bluffing or playing a mind game is anybody’s guess.

But the public, with all the pain that they are suffering now due to the economic meltdown, doesn’t give a hoot who runs the country as long as the new government delivers.

Most of the voters would even vote for a devil if he can get us out of the economic mess that the country is mired in.