It is that time of the year again when politicians upload videos of their Chinese New Year greetings and at times, slot in a few jabs at their rivals as well.

For this year, Malaysiakini's editorial team has compiled and reviewed some of the prominent video clips.

The videos are reviewed based on creativity, humour and production value.

MCA boss takes the safe route

MCA president Liow Tiong Lai's three-minute clip showed him extolling the achievements of the party in recent years and how it managed to close ranks while growing closer to the Chinese community.

The party, according to Liow, was also instrumental in Malaysia's effort to forge better economic ties with China, which will ultimately drive the local economy forward.

In terms of education, Liow said MCA had helped made Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) the No 2 public univesity in the country while increasing the number of Chinese schools.

Against this backdrop, Liow said the Chinese community must back MCA to ensure that the good times continue to roll.

"This is an important year, your support will make the Chinese voice in government stronger, that will ensure that this country remains on the multi-cultural and moderate path," he added.

Rating: 2/5

Liow chose a safe, albeit stale and uninspiring, message of unity to elicit support in exchange for political stability and Chinese-centric policies.

Romance and a bored dog

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's video clip featured him and his wife Betty Chew exchanging Chinese New Year greetings.

At one point, Chew says in Hokkien that eating red dates would bring luck. This is followed by an awkward moment where Lim holds Chew's hand and replies, "It is good to just have you".

Lim ended the clip by urging viewers to forget past "disappointments" and usher in "hope" for the new year.

In another awkward moment for the Lims, the bored-looking dog that was sitting next to them abruptly gets up and briefly disappears from the shot.

Rating: 1/5

Little effort and thought have been put into this video. Zero production value. Cringe-y romantic moment. Why couldn't they re-take the scene with the dog?

Something fishy in Rembau

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's video clip depicts him and his son Jibriel Ali visiting a Chinese coffee shop with a de-scaled grouper.

As the cook prepared lunch, Khairy learned how "fish" in Mandarin was the homophone for "abundance" and hence why fish dishes were common during Chinese New Year.

Getting Jibriel into the act and a smattering display of Chinese phrases to wish everyone a year of abundance ahead was a nice touch.

Verdict: 3/5

Minimalist and apolitical. We want to see Khairy in his natural hipster and polished state next year. By the way, who chops garlic with a massive cleaver?

What has John Cena got to do with CNY?

For the second year row, Balakong assemblyperson Eddie Ng has put together a Chinese New Year video depicting a group of villagers catching a chicken.

As with the year before, the antagonist in Ng's video is a jewellery-clad rooster which stole from the villagers.

Instead of an angry mob chasing after the chicken, the villagers in this year's video set a dog upon the foul fowl to WWE wrestler John Cena's theme music.

Rating: 1/5

Lack of originality and comic depiction of violence. 

Kok goes back to school

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has made many memorable tongue-in-cheek Chinese New Year video clips in the past.

This year, she chose a classroom theme, with students mulling over the merits of replacing "Yi Zhi Ji" with "Ma Ma Di" as their class president.

The antagonist of the short film - "Yi Zhi Ji" - taunts the rest of the class while his two cronies assure him that his position is unassailable.

Then comes student Kok who instigates the dejected students into backing "Ma Ma Di" for class president. One by one, they pledge to rise up against the tyrant.

As with previous years, Kok's video clip had several opposition personalities making cameo appearances and veiled references to current political topics.

Rating: 4/5

The best-produced video in this list. The pace slowed down in the middle but the slew of punchlines and gags (mostly lost in translation) made up for it.

Sap Sam Yiew is the collective pseudonym of ethnic-Chinese editors and journalists in Malaysiakini. We thank our readers for their support over the years and wish them a "wang" year ahead.