The planets have come full circle and the cosmic Star-Gate has opened. Lesser mortals, take heed. For now, the heavenly denizens will descend on earth.

Once every five years, these celestial beings journey from their majestic abodes to the humbler realms of the universe to meet their subjects.

Many will arrive in gleaming German-made chariots bearing the emblems of opulence whereas some will opt for the official - and not so superior - mode of interstellar travel - the local make.

Beatific faces seen only on television and newspapers will now walk amongst the common folk.

abdul rashid abdul rahman According to high priest Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman of the Election Commission, the demigods will make themselves visible for a period of 13 days to reaffirm faith in the Order of the Scales.

They will visit tea stalls, embrace and kiss children and even help clean drains clogged with rubbish since the last time the Star-Gate opened.

They will bring their bags of goodies, from which will magically spring forth an abundance of beautiful gifts and promises.

There will be processions and flags and the sound of drums will reverberate to herald their arrival.

Lo and behold, the general election has come.

Faith in the decline

In 2004, Lord of the Scales - Barisan Nasional (BN) chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - was triumphant. Devotion was at its peak.

But many moons have passed. Now, there is disquiet on the ground and faith is on the decline.

Through the apparatuses at their disposal, zealots of the Order have repeatedly warned the subjects not to be swayed by 'false prophets' and their 'tall tales'.

There is much concern that the opposing forces will deal a severe blow to the empire and tip the scales.

Have Malaysians been bewitched by the opposing forces, whose strength and reach, according to their loyalists, have increased since their warlock and one time second-in-command of the Order was released from the dungeons?

Malaysiakini meets up with a group of diehard BN supporters for a cup of coffee and to hear their casual assessment of the situation.

BN has lost ground

So has the opposition gained much ground since the last polls? No! The supporters cried in unison.

With a look of dejection, they added that on the contrary, it is the ruling coalition that has lost much ground since 2004.

mahathir dinar conference 240707 laughs The supporters, who concede to being ardent fans of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said the lion's share of the blame must fall on Abdullah.

They argued that while Mahathir struck awe, respect and fear in the hearts of all, including his foes, Abdullah, on the other hand, has yet to strike anything.

The incumbent, who took over the reins in 2003, rode into power with the promise of fathering a new era. Unfortunately, there has been miscarriage after miscarriage and his offsprings of change never came.

After more than four years in power, he appears to have lost steam and even the desire, according to the supporters, who pointed out that the patriarch is no longer in control.

He has been reduced to an object of constant lampooning and nobody, including his own subordinates, take him seriously, they lamented.

His fondness for afternoon siestas even led a group of youths to present him with a pillow while the opposition leader has accused him of sleepwalking.

Living in the past

Unlike Mahathir, Abdullah is said to operate like a true-blue civil servant - the clock-in, clock-out type, while the former was prime minister around-the-clock.

abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah 250607 concern The supporters are also enraged that while Mahathir cracked his head to hatch many an egg for the betterment of the country, his successor is supposedly contented with rearing chickens in his official residence.

In the prime minister's defence, Malaysiakini argued that Abdullah is just more nature-loving compared to his predecessor.

The supporters dismissed this.

Mahathir, they said, was a leader ahead of his time but Abdullah is dwelling in the past.

Having an ambitious son-in-law like Khairy Jamaluddin does not help either, they noted.

The Oxford graduate's meteoric rise in the political arena sparked off speculation that it is the 32-year-old lad and his fourth floor entourage who are running the country with Abdullah assigned the role of figurehead.

The supporters said under Mahathir's stewardship, BN was an impregnable fortress - at least until the 1999 polls when the coalition felt the aftershocks of the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim a year earlier.

While Malay voters were split over the issue, the Chinese and Indians dutifully voted for BN.

Leaders losing touch

The scenario is very different now. The fortress is riddled with cracks and all except for the one million civil servants - who received a hefty pay hike - seem to be happy.

On a comforting note, the supporters said at least 80 percent or 800,000 votes from the public sector is in the pocket.

abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah angry barisan nasional bn Under Abdullah's leadership, the supporters said component party leaders have become more brazen.

On many occasions, they cross the official line and publicly attack each other while their jet-setting boss forms committee after committee and commission after commission to deal with the pile of scandals.

Apart from this, serial price hikes and sluggish economic management have left the people with bigger burdens to shoulder.

While Abdullah's grand 'corridors' are laudable ventures, these will only bear fruit in the distant future, said the supporters. The country needs more immediate measures to accelerate the idling economy and achieve the Vision 2020 target.

Ethnic and religious concerns have also come to the fore. More and more people are taking to the streets to vent their frustration.

Mental revolution

The supporters also complained that the leaders have become increasingly arrogant and have lost touch with the ground.

These leaders, they said, have taken their positions and the support of the people for granted.

In this age, where the flow of information can no longer be regulated or curtailed, the masses are more aware of their rights.

We cannot be using the same crisis management strategies used by our forefathers to deal with the complex problems of today, they added.

The leaders must also evolve to ensure their continued survival and relevance.

gmi hindraf vigil 050108 shooting water Our leaders, said the supporters, must realise that water cannons can no longer douse the flames of discontent and that threats of racial riots or the inflammatory propaganda churned out by RTM are outdated.

The era of whipping or frightening people into submission is over, they stressed. We must entice them and win them over instead.

According to the supporters, there must be a mental revolution in BN. The mindset of party leaders and supporters must be overhauled.

Still not too late

So how to fix the problem? Vote for the opposition, they cried in unison again.

What? Exclaimed Malaysiakini . How will that help?

Sporting the same dejected look, they explained that it can save the ruling coalition from self destructing.

bn quiet campaign 020108 seri kembangan We have to wake Abdullah up and bring the leaders down to earth again. One way of doing this is by reducing the coalition's majority and creating a system of check and balance, they said.

This is a small sacrifice for the greater good of the party, they added.

It is still not too late for Abdullah, they elaborated. Every man needs a muse and may be an electoral humbling will jolt him from his slumber.

Who knows, this may inspire our beloved prime minister to set the House in Order and leave a legacy far greater than Mahathir's, the supporters concluded their assessment with a twinkle of hope in their eyes.

R K Anand is a member of the Malaysiakini team.