COMMENT Many Malaysians may be unaware of the considerable research work by social scientists - both local and foreign - that have unequivocally concluded that the country’s record on free and fair elections has been abysmal. Analysis of this remarkable record of trickery, manipulation and gerrymandering by first the Alliance, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN), goes back for more than 50 years - in fact soon after the country received its independence.