I refer to the Malaysiakini report Anwar: It confirms plot to frame me.

The latest revelation regarding the Anwar sodomy saga is simply the final nail in the coffin on the credibility of the Malaysian government, its criminal justice system and the police. As an expat Malaysian, it is very sad for me to see Malaysia descend into the current chaos.

Looking from the outside in, the Malaysian government and the criminal justice system is simply a laughing stock in the eyes of the international community.

Rome was not built in a day and likewise Rome did not fall in one day. The current chaos and crises are caused by years and decades of economic mis-management, corruption and egocentric practices right through to the very top level of government.

One can’t help but notice that Malaysia has successfully built the world's tallest twin towers, the Penang Bridge and its own national cars, and yet it cant have a decent public transport system in place.

Worse still, Malaysia has always focused on low-wage, low-skill manufacturing industries. These industries were fine for 20 – 30 years ago but today you see severe competition from China, India, Vietnam and Thailand, to name a few.

Instead of building on its own human capital and focusing more and more on value-added products and services like how our closest neighbour Singapore does, the policy makers instead import millions of foreign workers to take up low-wage jobs.

Many Malaysians have missed the opportunities to upgrade their skills and the foreign workers have created many social problems. I have made the following peripheral observations on the country:

1. On the National Service programme - National unity and racial integration do not come through a single national service boot camp. It is incredible to note that the Malaysian education system is still race-based 50 years after independence.

Why not have the mainstream schools taking in all races and offer language classes for those who aspire to learn other languages?

2. On criminal justice – When I was back in Malaysia last year, my sister suffered a bad fall from a snatch thief. She narrowly escaped serious head injuries. Did the police do anything other than take a statement? No.

And yet the police can have a convoy of commandos to arrest Anwar Ibrahim on the slimmest of evidence (or one could even argue fabricated evidence or no evidence).

3. On misallocation of state funds - I couldn’t help but notice the empty Komtar building in Penang in contrast to the brand new Penang state administration building. Similarly, many buildings are lying empty while other mega-structures are propping up all over Penang.

The only beneficiaries are the developers who have close ties to the ruling politicians. The money could have been better spent on a good public transport system, a better, integrated school education system and an industry skills training programme.

One would hate to think about what happened to the millions/billions of profit from the Malaysia’s oil industry.

4. On the low-wage/low-skill economy - As long as rampant corruption exists together with a lack of a merit-based system, there is no hope for progress when business is based on how close you are to the ruling politicians of the day rather than one’s ability and competency.

There are some good initiatives such as the MSC programme but the poor execution by less than competent people has all but sent the initiative into oblivion. The country is in need of some serious re-training of its people to meet the demand of the globalised economy.

And yet I have not seen any significant industry skills training programme which upgrades the skill of the Malaysian people and encourages lifelong learning. Continuous reliance on foreign low-wage labour is a death spiral.

5. On environment impact - Penang beaches used to be beautiful and unspoilt but through a lack of environmental policy and monitoring, many rivers and beaches have become heavily polluted by the industries.

This does not go down well with the tourism industry. The Malaysian people deserve a clean and safe environment which tourists enjoy visiting.

Malaysia is in a dire need of transformation. A progressive society cannot happen when you have poor governance, corrupt practices and poor execution of policy. I write this with great sadness for I want to see a prosperous Malaysia.