It is a requirement of change that we deal with all the problems which almost destroyed the nation, but change also means tackling head-on, the issues which some of us term "sensitive". So, how's this for double standards? When critics and columnists censured Umno-Baru, and singled out their leader, the disgraced, former prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, the former self-styled 'First Lady of Malaysia' (FLOM), we were described as courageous and "talking the truth".

Today, we realise that Harapan's politicians only want reporters who are "yes-men". The rakyat voted for change. We demand politicians with high standards of integrity, honesty and principles. Many of us are unhappy about nepotism in the various political parties. Despite acknowledging our views about this, Anwar Ibrahim and his inner circle, pushed ahead to engineer a by-election in Port Dickson. Manipulating the electorate is not change for the better. He should unify and strengthen his party, instead of being distracted by the race to the top.

Columnists (and cartoonists) recall a time when their work was not published by independent newspapers, for fear of the authorities. Today, many publishers still pander to the ruling party, and the voices of the opposition and critics of the new administration, are largely unheard. Little has changed in the media.

We cannot undo 61 years of mismanagement, misrule, corrupt practices and injustice in 100 days. It may take several terms of office. Already, power has got to the heads of some Harapan politicians, who act like Umno-Baru Version 2. It is the rakyat's responsibility to censure misbehaving Harapan politicians. Those who hold public office must observe a code of conduct.

The Deputy Home Minister, Azis Jamman (photo), was accompanied by his aide, on a visit to have his eyes checked, when the aide took an upskirt photo of the optician. The aide was sacked when his sexual indiscretion was publicised. An aide is for work, not personal use. Don't blame Harapan's critics, if BN were to seize back control.

Safeguard the children

The Deputy Prime Minister, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (photo), who is also the Minister for Women, has failed to protect and safeguard the rights of children. How many children will suffer, before drastic action is taken to stop paedophiles from giving Islam and Malaysia a bad name?

Would she marry off her granddaughter to a 40-year-old man? Will she advise Muslim families to practise birth control, to stop them from having large families? In the second child marriage, the parents exchanged their daughter, one of 13 children, for a dowry, so their child could escape the poverty trap, as the second wife of a man, who is old enough to be her father.

Yesterday, we learnt that a single mother will be whipped for selling her body in exchange for money. Her husband had failed to pay any alimony. This story of the single mother, prostituting herself, to support herself and her children is not new. It has existed for decades. Wan Azizah is in a strong position to act to change the fortunes of single mothers. We used to criticise Umno-Baru ministers for the same failure.

The ex-husband who abandons his wives and children, without paying maintenance, should be severely punished. Men who abandon their wives and children are becoming the norm. Some refuse to divorce their wives, leaving them in a bind, if they find a new love.

It is not just about love and marriage. The syariah laws pertaining to inheritance need an urgent review. Single women are also at risk when their parents die. If they predecease their parents, their money and property will go to the baitulmal fund, if they have failed to make a will.

The two-tier system of civil and syariah laws has to be disbanded. Men find the loopholes in the syariah laws and take advantage of them.

Overhaul the education system

The Minister for Education, Maszlee Malik, has failed to overhaul the syllabus for Muslim children in schools. An examination paper showed how young Muslim adults are told that wife beating is acceptable; furthermore, men are taught how to beat their wives in the Muslim way. Elsewhere, a new wife is told that she cannot leave the house without her husband's permission. She is not a slave.

A few years ago, a teenager said that in her school, sex education was about the many ways of preparing delicious rice dishes for her husband. Sex education is not about the ability of the wife to be a whore in bed, a cleaner and a good cook. The root of the matter is how Islam is practised in Malaysia. Our interpretation of the Koran has been hijacked by certain warped mullahs.

Wan Azizah cannot look over her shoulder to see if her husband approves of her actions. If she does, then she is not fit to be a minister. Like her, the other Muslim ministers, like Maszlee and Mujahid Yusof Rawa, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, need to lead the way and overhaul the system, where Muslims are concerned.

Malaysian children who attend Chinese, and International schools focus on science, technology, IT, and the creative arts, to expand their minds. Malays in government type schools, and tahfiz schools, are returned to the stone ages, where males are taught how to control their women.

A vote for change on May 9, was not a vote for Umno-Baru ministers to be replaced by Harapan ministers who would continue with the old ways. It was certainly not a vote for ministers to do nothing, but hide behind the cloak of religion or male superiority. On May 9, the rakyat voted for a radical overhaul of the way Malaysia was governed. Unfortunately, we must now question, if some in the Harapan government are capable of administering this change.