I was at a rally last night, a non-Barisan one. I'll confide, not all was in place. Not all was in complete order. There was a smell of an amateur night.

So many people take potshots at the opposition parties. But before you take your complimentary poke at them, ask this question: ‘Why does anyone mount a challenge against a bully of a government, with all their institutions serving them completely and absolutely?’ David facing Goliath comes to mind.

To be so exposed, to be politically bludgeoned on a daily basis in the papers and on TV, with no opportunity for rebuttal, has to be a pride-swallowing experience for opposition politicians. These Davids are more akin like the Christians fed to the lions.

And what does the Malaysian public do about the scales tipped so unfairly against the opposition parties? It often chooses to ignore the realities of the process and focuses on the inevitable shortage of opposition parties. When all means of engagement are removed from one party, how else do you expect them to fight other than with sticks? And you mock them?

The universally-desired outcome for this year’s general election is for the democratic process to begin in Malaysia. A vote for the BN does not get you that. You cannot kid yourself that communal politics will decrease with the BN in power. They are too used to power and can see no reason to set in motion anything that will call their bluff.

The BN-controlled media confirm this in their press releases. Everything is seen through a race-based lens. Seat X goes to the DAP or the BN, depending on the Malay votes. Seat Y goes to PAS or the BN, depending on the Chinese votes. With the litany of statistics available to them and a crowd of Oxbridge boys and girls suffocating each other in a BN pile, surely they will be able to produce additional analyses that are not based on race.

And it is not the many Malaysians who live in oblivion with regards to this who upset me - they are just victims. My ire is for my peers who know better, yet find reasoning to power the wheels of intolerance on behalf of the governing party. I accuse those in power for the lack of democracy in this country. Anyone willing to think surely will come to the same conclusion. A vote against the Barisan Nasional is a vote for democracy.

There are many wrongs in this country and every Malaysian has a set of pet peeves, even if they are not all the results of BN leadership. However, these wrongs are being insulated by the BN-led government, which is feudal to the core and rejects any process independent of their cabinet to rectify errors.

Any government replacing the BN will only slip in with the barest of majorities. Umno’s coalition will remain as the most powerful bloc in the country, even without political power. Umno will not allow any government led by the PKR, DAP or PAS to make any constitutionally-damaging changes.

The economy will remain solid and, in most instances, will benefit from the backing of foreign players supportive of the end of the world’s longest reign over a vastly developed country. Our banks will open, our ports will lift and move cargo and our policemen will be better at law enforcement, once taken off excessive escort duties and riot policing.

The GLCs will still belong to the people of Malaysia. And they will have many new positions for directors with actual business abilities, as political appointees can seek the jobs opposition politicians used to hold. The economy is strong because, daily, millions of Malaysians and foreign workers work the grind. They would now be free to decide what makes sense economically, rather than politically, all the time.

There are so many things wrong in this country, and it defies logic for us not to place an enormous amount these problems on the shoulders of Umno and its side-kicks.

So, yes, the PKR, DAP and PAS are not the complete package. But they never get a fair chance, do they? The choice is becoming increasingly simple. Choose the BN and you will see things spiral out of control for the next four years. Or make the choice Malaysia has never made. We cannot use the fear of the unknown forever, while the bed we sleep on slips into murky waters.