As the prospect of another general election intensifies, war drums are rumbling on the horizon. Politics is best selling news these days.

To understand the nuances and under-currents in Chinese politics in Malaysia, you really have to read the Chinese dailies, bearing in mind the political ownership and the larger loyalty of these massive media empires. For balance and antidote, you must then read the alternative net portals, the www.merdekarview.com and the Chinese version of www.malaysiakini.com.

The front page of the Oriental Daily on July 29 carried a front page report that the MCA president Ong Ka Ting may (and may not) contest in the Bukit Bintang constituency in the coming general election. Like a bold move in a tight chess game, this gambit must have plucked the heartstring of many-a-politician.