The recent KT by-election by all accounts was not going to change the seat of power by much but looking at the interest it generated, you would have thought it was the general election.

Such is the nature of the political play now in Malaysia with the likely prospect that Umno and its Barisan Nasional cronies will be replaced by the Pakatan Rakyat faction in the next general election.

The Kuala Terengganu result will not be enough to swing the sitting on the fence BN MPs to switch over to Pakatan Rakyat as much as Anwar Ibrahim likes to believe. In fact, if I were Anwar, I would not be making any more noise about that until it happens. Otherwise his credibility will be affected and no one likes a snake oil salesman.

Dr Mahathir Mohammed in his usual cunning manner thinks he can dupe us by deflecting blame to Najib Abdul Razak. Instead he blames Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister. It goes to show how bitter and revengeful he is. He simply can't accept reality and needs to take another poke at his successor. Why flog a dead horse?

The truth rather, is that Pak Lah was not a factor in the KT elections. Voters knew he is going away in March. And even before the elections Najib Razak played a key role, and even after the defeat was there to make the speech, not the candidate. So the vote was all about Najib Razak and the voters have clearly rejected him.

While the winners and losers dissect the results of this by-election and the winners give credit to one another and the losers blame one another, they’ve all missed one important crucial point. The voters. No one gave credit to the voters for their choice.

At least Anwar did say the voters want change but that is political talk and another way of saying ‘they want me to be PM.’ Maybe so, but until the politicians take the voters seriously and give them the real credit, the next elections will see a dramatic change.

Umno has become its worst enemy. There are two things it can do. Reform or ransack. If it wants to stay in power and stave off a total defeat and lose power in the next general elections, it must change its culture of corruption, and abuse of power and bring the country back onto the road of a higher civilisation respecting the rights of the citizens and the rule of law. It must undo all that it has done wrong.

But I am not hopeful. Since March 8 last year, it has virtually done nothing of the sort and instead shown itself incapable of reform because Zaid Ibrahim - the reformer brought into Umno - left in a state of disgust and disappointment. Pak Lah proved a lame duck. Unable even to implement the IPCMC, he failed to fulfill his promises. The rest of the people already know the rest - police brutality, cover-ups, ISA detentions, etc.

The other course then is for the corrupt politicians to ransack the country. For this reason Pakatan Rakyat must be vigilant and use its numbers in parliament to make it difficult for corruption to occur. Expose and challenge the acts of government that are not above board.

All government contracts must be accountable. Make it illegal for politicians going out of office to sabotage their successors by destroying files, etc that rightfully should be maintained.

It is difficult for the Umno and cronies sampan to sail upstream.

Anwar is right - the rakyat want change and it is not something he invented. It is time for change indeed. No matter what Umno does, it can only lessen the loss. It is headed for a colossal loss because the rakyat have had enough of 51 years of corruption and croynyism and Najib Razak is the least likely person capable of turning things around.

Najib Razak is not the solution. He is the problem.

I would not fear PAS if I were a non-Muslim because they can't do worse than Umno. At least, PAS is open about its intentions and that is honest. Umno speaks with a forked tongue. Right Mahathir he is the best weapon Pakatan Rakyat has for tearing Umno to bits.

And by supporting Najib Razak whom he called ‘a coward’ it sums up the nature of Umno. Why call someone a coward and then support the coward? If this is not double-talk, then what is?

The real credit goes to the voters of KT. I hope KT voters and voters everywhere will get their friends to vote the next time and make sure there is no doubt about who they support. Umno is finished. PAS is rising. DAP is thriving. And Pakatan Rakyat will win the government eventually.

What is needed now is to document every act of the Umno government and hold them accountable. Pakatan Rakyat must never be like Umno and its cronies or it, too, will face the same fate of those who became drunk with power and thought themselves invincible.

More than the KT election result, I look forward to the day when I can read of the conviction of the true killers of Altantuya Shaaribuu. Her blood cries out from the ground for justice and if Malaysians believe in justice, they should not stop until they get justice for her.

Let us show the corrupt that they will never get away with murder and abuse of power. Well done, voters of KT.