The government is worried about Harakah . This is because Harakah has just become the top selling newspaper in Malaysia. The government is also worried that Harakah's success is at the expense of the Umno-owned and controlled newspapers such as Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times . The government is even more worried that Harakah has been able to influence the people's thinking and that this has determined the way the people vote, as has been proven in the recent general elections.

Why is Harakah so successful? Basically because the people feel that the mainstream newspapers print nothing but a pack of lies while Harakah , on the other hand, gives the other side of the story. Harakah also offers a more balanced reporting and is seen as extremely bold for printing the truth without fear of repression and retaliation from the powers-that-be.

The government realised it is fighting a losing battle and that its propaganda is no longer working. The people will not accept the lies that spew from the government- controlled newspapers. Instead, the people turn their backs on these newspapers and turn towards Harakah for the truth. The more propaganda they churn out, the more they turn the people off.

The only avenue left open to the government is to ban Harakah . They have tried everything and all have failed. The government is now testing the waters to see how far they can go. They started by making it difficult to buy Harakah . If this does not work, then they may ban Harakah completely. They have also arrested some people hoping to frighten the others into not supporting or working for Harakah .

But the arrests have not worked. It has just made the people in Harakah more defiant and determined. No matter how difficult the government may make it, the people will still support and buy Harakah .

I must say Harakah has been very creative in solving this current problem of theirs. To make it legal for Harakah to be sold, every sales outlet is being registered as a PAS branch. This is not confined to only shops, but also homes of individuals -- basically supporters of the Barisan Alternatif. Customers are then asked whether they are PAS members before being allowed to buy Harakah . If they reply they are not, then they will be encouraged to sign up as PAS members first.

If this strategy works, not only will the sales of Harakah be maintained -- or probably even increased - but PAS' membership will spiral as well. The latest government move has backfired. PAS will now grow stronger with more branches and members. Instead of Haraka h declining, PAS is increasing. Maybe next time the government will think before embarking on any exercise as, of late, many of Umno's strategies seem to have backfired.

RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN wrote a cycling column for The Star's Weekender for more than six years. He had been politically active both in PAS and Umno. Raja Petra is currently the coordinator of the media department in KeADILan.