It's hard to keep track of the sack of election candy being dangled before voters' eyes. There is an estimated RM125 million worth of grants, allocations and recognitions since New Year's Eve, mostly for educational causes for the Chinese and Indian communities. The MCA has recently presented a five-year economic blueprint for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).

Naturally, the BN's manifesto outdoes all, with its warm, fuzzy glow of promises. In true BN style, the document arrived with 12 days for us to digest this government's past four years' performance and its promises for the next five.

The BN wants a new mandate, but demands it in the same old ways. They blitz the rakyat with pronouncements from all those billboards that trumpet ‘Satu Lagi Projek Kerajaan Barisan Nasional’. Indeed, another plan, another construction, another contract.