Caretaker Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has predicted, long before he dissolved Parliament, that the coming elections would be the dirtiest in history. And it will be. Malaysians are confronted today by pages after pages of Barisan Nasional advertisements in the mainstream newspapers depicting acts of violence by reformasi demonstrators.

They included photographs of stone-throwing demonstrators, an unknown man giving a flying kick at a police car, garbage bins set on fire in downtown Kuala Lumpur, and three terrified TV journalists inside a car vandalised by enraged protestors.

Apparently none of these individuals were arrested by the police. Reformasi leaders have, at times, questioned the identity of these protestors, who, they say, could have been planted by the government to justify its harsh crackdown on the protestors. Indeed, those who rioted and destroyed public and private property should be severely punished. This, of course, must include the riot police who have shown little restraint in bludgeoning peaceful demonstrators into a pulp.

The "violent" advertisements appeared in all the major newspapers: English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. The electronic media, too, have joined the war with commercials along the same vein appearing on both TV and radio almost on the hour. These are supplemented by advertisements from various companies and state-owned enterprises, including Bernas. One can ask what business Bernas, our national rice distributor, has in using taxpayers money to run an advertisement "thanking BN for guaranteeing the future of our children".

There is no doubt that the BN strategy in this election is to sow fear and anxiety among Malaysians. The underlying message in the current advertising campaign and the speeches of BN leaders could not be more blunt: if you vote for the Opposition on Nov 29, expect trouble.

This, too, was the approach taken by the Indonesian military in its bid to cling on to power last year. There, the military -- much like the BN government -- has fashioned itself as the guarantor of peace and stability. Remove them and anarchy shall reign. The choice is stark. But when many Indonesians decided not to buy the argument anymore, the generals went on to foment riots and stood back while Jakarta burned.

Mahathir, a master politician, knows full well that Malaysia is not really Indonesia, or for that matter, Thailand and the Philippines. We don't have a tradition in struggling against oppression, especially in recent history. True, the political upheaval in the past year has opened up the eyes of many Malaysians. Some were so angered by the treatment of sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim that they took to the streets.

But when push comes to shove, most Malaysians would prefer not to rock the boat. Instead they would stick with the status quo, however imperfect it is. That is what Mahathir is banking on, and he has been proven right before. Which is why Malaysians should expect more to come from the BN dirty tricks department. After all, today is only the first full day of campaigning.

But more forebodingly, Mahathir has also predicted, time and again, that violence would erupt in the coming days. One fears that Mahathir is correct in this too.

The Barisan Alternatif has asked Barisan Nasional to join it in a pledge that both would not resort to violence in the elections. If Mahathir is indeed worry about the potential violence which he has repeatedly warned, then he should take up the invitation, at least for the peace of mind of Malaysian voters.