The prime minister has completed his postmortem of Lunas, and finds that it was lost because of lies. Over a long period, this has been his recurrent theme, therefore it is not surprising that it has not changed.

What is rather refreshing in the present instance is that the prime minister actually identifies the lie he refers to, saying that a whisper campaign took place during the election, during which the Chinese were told that in the Vision Schools all the children would be required to wear skullcaps.

The horror and revulsion of the Chinese, on hearing this news, can easily be imagined, inspiring them to rush to the polls to vote against the BN ministers in waves, pushing past the tired ministers in the streets, at that very moment busy plying them with unrequited gifts of new roads and operative drains.

There are other minor issues to be raised. How did the prime minister come to hear the whispers? It is reported that the closest he got to a Chinese voter was the town of Kulim. Whispers do not generally carry over any distance, and thus it must be surmised that the prime minister is relying on reports given to him by others, perhaps those who were closer to the scene.

It must be presumed that the prime minister believes the information he was given is reliable, setting aside for the moment any suspicion that he is the inventor.

Personal pinch

The matter of the skullcaps, since it represents the type of misinformation the prime minister alleges the opposition used to unfairly unseat the BN candidate, assumes an importance out of proportion to any significance it may have in reality, since it is known that Chinese have an affinity for various types of skullcaps, and would not find this issue of sufficient import to affect their ballot on election day.

It is unlikely the skullcap issue had a decisive role in the Lunas election. It does, however, draw public attention to the relish the prime minister has for the term "lie". Typically he accompanies it with the dressing of slander, which puts on a more personal pinch.

In an effort to reduce the frequency of both lies and slanderous language, the sternest measures of the state are deemed necessary, and this gives all necessary justification for the detention of suspects whose rights are brushed brusquely aside in the process. Their illegal detention is explained as necessary to "aid in the investigation".

The police are encouraged to use the rotan, along with the boot toe and tear gas, to deal with anyone suspected of "lies and slander". The various ministries are encouraged to support use of the ISA law, the Universities and University Colleges Act, The Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Public Assembly Act, and any other Act that can be brought out by the AG's office for the purpose of prosecution and intimidation.

All this inhumane and widely damned activity is done in an avowed effort to prevent and punish prevarication.

Criminal prosecution

Laudable though the effort may be, it tends to draw attention to the inability of the BN ministers to attach themselves enthusiastically to the truth. The present policy is clearly one of evasion and diversion.

Getting a straight answer to any question of substance is impossible. A common question, and a simple one, is, "Where is the money?" No BN minister is known to give an honest or accurate answer to this question.

Another troublesome question is, "Why are you doing/not doing that?" In recent memory there is no occasion in which a credible answer has been put forward in answer to this question. The appearance given is that a policy of prevarication is consciously in place.

Perhaps it is this policy which has contributed, in even the smallest way, to the loss in Lunas.

If this is part of the problem, then it would seem that minor changes would improve BN chances in future. The Cabinet might consider a change toward a policy of telling the truth. This is not even a remote possibility, primarily because criminal prosecutions would immediately be proposed.

The prospects for the BN in the future then rest on its ability to perpetuate undetectable and non-preventable election fraud. This requires the complicity of the Election Commission.

Once the Conference of Rulers and the King correct this deficiency, by appointing honest and independent Election Commission members who deserve public trust and confidence, the BN can only contact the movers.

HARUN RASHID is a scientist avidly interested in the application of Islamic principles in international affairs. The promotion of goodwill through civilisational dialogue motivates his writing. His Worldview column is a personal analysis of Malaysian affairs from a global perspective.[#1]Worldview archives[/#]