COMMENT | Dear prime minister,

I am 76 years old. I have lived through the growth, the development, the decadence, the deterioration, the destruction, and the despair of my Malaysia, under the watch of all eight of our prime ministers, including your good self, sir.

Starting from Tunku Abdul Rahman, through Abdul Razak Hussein, Hussein Onn, Dr Mahathir Mohamad Ver.01, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Abdul Razak, Mahathir Ver.02, Muhyiddin Yassin and now you, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

I lived through the post-world war period, the Communist insurgency, the idealistic beginnings of Umno, the heady days of the declaration of Merdeka, the creation of Malaysia, the expulsion of Singapore, the upheavals of May 13, 1969, the National Operations Council period under Razak, the birth of the New Economic Policy, the emergence of Mahathir Ver.01 after the uneventful reign of Hussein, the birth of cronyism, corruption, bigotry, and all that is presently loathsome in Malaysia, under Mahathir’s watch, the sleepy years of Abdullah, the grand larcenies under Najib, the return of Mahathir Ver.02 after the rise of the rakyat in the 14th general election, the treachery of Muhyiddin and the Sheraton Rats, and now the doldrums of your watch.

I am sad that what was once a potential Tiger, is now a broken country, and possibly one of the greatest kleptocracy in the world. And I blame it fully on the bad policies of the rotten political parties running Malaysia over the last half a century.

I blame Malaysia’s decay squarely on the...