The battle for votes has begun for the 12th general election. The battle starts after about 10 days of intense lobbying and manoeuvring by existing and would-be YBs to get nominated as candidates.

Some of the manoeuvres used were so dirty and brilliant that even Sun Tsu would have been cowed. It reads like modern version of his Art of War .

For some parties, this is a time to consolidate power and sideline those who do not toe the line, using the great euphemism of ‘change’ or ‘renewal’. Are the candidates chosen really in the best interests of the people or the parties?

Only the top leaders themselves know, but even young students and lay men can tell you that this is not the case. Often, not the best people are selected, but rather those who belong to certain factions or alignments .

Sometimes, a weaker candidate is chosen over a stronger one, even though the former is sure to lose and the latter might have a better fighting chance. All this because of factional interest and lobbying by the faction chiefs.

Smokescreens are everywhere; rumours abound. Often these smokescreens and rumours are created to put certain individuals off-track to serve the purpose of ‘finishing off’ certain people or factions.

Others are so pathetic and resort to crying in public and asking friends to demonstrate on their behave as if their whole world depends on their candidacy and that alone! A friend remarked that he doubted whether such cry babies have what it takes to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of an elected representative. I really have no answer.

Now that the nomination selection is over and the real battle starts, let us hope that both sides will fight a gentleman’s war and not resort to dirty tactics. I hope all parties will follow strictly the election rules and regulations, even though my friends are telling me that rules are meant to be broken.

Some people are willing to do anything to win at all cost and pouring in millions of ringgit to try and swing votes may be one option of those who have deep pockets. For those who cannot afford this, borrowing huge sums from relatives or even ‘Ah Long’ might be an option. These people probably treat this as a ‘war’.

By their action, they probably treat elected office as a stepping stone to get high positions and of course, good financial returns later.

And how will the people vote? No one knows until the final vote is counted.