COMMENT | The 14th edition of the general election will ultimately be a battle between the BN and the people. The opposition may not be able to dislodge the grand old party on its own steam.

It is up to the people to exert their power to make or unmake a government.

The political barons in Putrajaya, long drunk with power, must be banking on the people to score yet another victory, but the atmosphere this time is tingling with a high expectation of a different outcome.

For the ground beneath Putrajaya is shifting as popular anger swells at a party that has long overstayed its welcome.

The writing is clearly on the wall: in this upcoming monumental contest the force to be reckoned with are the people who, disgusted with the unhealthy political developments in recent years, are all set to bring their sledgehammers to the voting booths to deliver mortal blows to all these political crooks who have been misusing and abusing their office for so long.

The people do not need the opposition to think for themselves on why they should not place their trust in BN.

The conduct of the government over the years is there for all the voters to see and appraise. Its record is one long, dark catalogue of “double-faced and lying cynicism” and bad governance.

True, the opposition has relentlessly highlighted issues of great importance to educate voters in the choice of the next government. Thanks to the constant flow of information carried with undiminished courage and a high sense of duty in the alternative media, the public is well-informed about all the misdeeds BN had perpetrated at the expense of parliamentary democracy.

The opposition has been paying a heavy price for its bold fight for justice, truth, transparency. Its leaders have been harassed, hounded, and demonised with no hope of a fair hearing in a dysfunctional judiciary.

But if the opposition is immobilised, the incumbent overlords must not think it will be an easy walk in the park for them in this electoral brawl.

If anything, the fight will be even tougher because the people cannot be intimidated at the voting booths.

When the campaign starts in earnest, the people are clearly their own masters. They do not have to listen to the opposition candidates for guidance.

They understand the issues – all the scandals, cover-ups and blatant injustice – and have already made up their mind as to who is the main villain of the piece.

The line is drawn in the sand: on the one side is the BN behemoth and on the other, the bigger and more powerful common man.

The two forces are arrayed at a time when the country is bleeding and crying out for a healing of the political wounds inflicted by a government not of the people, not by the people, not for the people.

PHLIP RODRIGUES is a veteran journalist.