Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently expressed his concern on the many issues affecting our country. Though most Malaysians have stopped believing him, the issues he touched on cannot be ignored as these have been the thorny issues that Malaysians have been voicing out on though thus far they have fallen on deaf ears.

Some of the concerns of Mahathir are:

that Umno and Barisan are being led by too many corrupted leaders;

the majority of Malaysians are dissatisfied with the way the PM is running the government;

the highhanded approach by the PM in handling the Hindraf phenomenon which was uncalled for as it is true that Indians in this country have not been well represented and;

that a lot of money would be spent to buy votes to ensure a BN victory in the coming elections.

Pak Lah has admitted that unhappy Indians could vote against BN. To add to this pressing issue is Lingam tape scandal which is certain to destroy judicial integrity. In summary, it’s an open secret that this time around many Malaysians would go for alternative parties or candidates.

While this concern is felt by most BN leaders, it is quite disturbing to note Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent announcement. According to him, he is very confident of BN winning the upcoming elections with a thwo-thirds majority.

His super-confidence under the current climate poses a big question - does this mean rampant vote buying activities are going to take place? And can we regard the recent announcements like the allocating of millions of ringgit to Chinese and Tamil schools as a form of vote-buying activity?

The government’s effort in helping people will be appreciated if it is genuine and on-going. Therefore, it is important that any such effort be seen not as an attempt to attract voters during an election period. Any such act, even if it is a assistance from the government, must be regarded as despicable and we Malaysians must all together reject it.