Some 25 years ago, a disgruntled Aussie politician called Don Chipp launched a tiny watchdog party, the Australian Democrats. His stated aim - to challenge the country's two-party system. His slogan? 'Vote the Democrats to keep the bastards honest.'

Needless to say, the 'bastards' are, of course, the politicians, a reference which many Australians would easily identify with.

Closer to home, our 11 th general election tomorrow will determine whether the country continues to mend itself after two long decades of opaque corporate deals, pervasive abuse of power and endemic corruption.

New Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who took the helm from Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has signalled that he intends to bring about reforms. But while he has whipped up a 'feel good' factor for his countrymen, very little has changed.

Take, for example, the conduct of this election.

For all intents and purposes, we are still living in the Mahathir era. The ruling coalition continues to exploit the '3Ms' at its disposal - government m achinery, Barisan Nasional-controlled m edia and big m oney, among others, to bribe individuals into switching sides.

Not to mention the exceptionally short campaigning period - seven days and 15 hours to be exact, the shortest in our electoral history. This is not only to deny the opposition adequate time to campaign, but also to stop BN malcontents from sabotaging the polls.

No doubt, Mr Nice Guy has said time and again that he is a man to be trusted. Perhaps. We are not going to dispute that for now It is, after all, too early to tell. The question is - can others in the BN be trusted?

Clearly, his inability to clean the BN stable of candidates sullied by allegations of corruption shows that he has problems getting everyone to work with him. For that, we should let the new PM hold on to his 'P' plate until he is truly in the driver's seat.

Two dominant poles

This election will not just only be a referendum on Abdullah. It will also be a referendum on political Islam.

Voters should send two clear and unmistakable messages to our politicians.

One, we want to see real reforms in the ruling BN coalition. Two, we want political Islam, in whatever form, to respect Malaysia's rich cultural and religious diversity.

For this to happen, both BN and PAS should be deprived of an emphatic victory. It is only through a robust third force that these two dominant poles in Malaysian politics be effectively checked.

And just as important - with the ruling coalition expected to romp home with more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament - we urge Malaysians to vote for a strong opposition.

It doesn't really matter whether the opposition is BA or BN. Indeed, if Islamic party PAS retains Kelantan and Terengganu, then these states deserve a strong BN opposition.

After all, politicians cannot be trusted. Even Don Chipp himself concedes that he, too, is one of the 'bastards.'

Decision day is tomorrow. Vote to keep our politicians legitimate.