Candidates with a tin-ear in the general election have made the electoral process a festival of pleading a joyless slog and of idle chatter.
Their vision of a better Malaysia and economic progress has amounted to little more than rhetorical flatulence and relentless rubbishing of their rivals.
Charmless and wooden, they portray themselves as high-minded martyrs even as their judgment and common sense are in doubt.
They stand above the crowd, looking down and judging, as they indulge in cheap vengeance, rivalry for its own sake, and pettiness in general.
That may explain the dull election mood, empty chairs at rallies and why some people refuse handshakes with the candidates, a sharp contrast to the raucous previous general election.
The contestants are likely to continue with rubbish-talk in the final lap of campaigning before a fiercely divided nation goes to the polls on Nov 19.
The sloppy campaigns resemble a treadmill existence, a routine characterised by monotonous, wearisome action that lacks meaning or forward progress.
I dare say that should many of them eventually become lawmakers, they will suffer in the bearpit of the country’s divisive politics.
Having covered general elections for over 40 years, I have not known a political class so out of touch with the people and so lacking in original ideas.
On the campaign trail in several states, I observed MP aspirants making desperate pitches with naked vanity.
They should primarily be giving reassurance to the electorate that they have a credible plan to repair Malaysia’s battered economy as millions face hardship.
The most ridiculous pitch was the promise to get pandas to the Taiping Zoo. Will anyone give people like him the bullhorn to be their voice in Parliament?
The power seekers tied themselves in knots to answer a pertinent question, “Do we have a way out of the rising cost of living?”
Seremban voter Alvin Cheong, 54, said: “Do they consider the economically marginalised to be collateral damage?”
Some chose to traffic in conspiracy theories and falsehoods; others over-promised with reckless abandon.
“Are we fools to believe their tall tales and their promises that are almost impossible to deliver,” says Raymond Shan from Petaling Jaya.
Our curse is the modern politician who lacks ideas, courage, wisdom and decency.
Some said these politicians were inferior to their counterparts of 50 years ago, with original ideas as rare as hen’s teeth.
Little wonder that people are fed up with the campaign so far, describing it as the “worst campaign ever”, according to Port Dickson voter Mohamad Darus.
He said he was angry that contestants were not intelligently addressing the big issue of hardship that is stalking the country.
Sungai Siput trader S K Lee, who has voted since 1978, said the three political sessions he had attended were like watching a chef cooking without food.
“I sat through the long, tedious sessions wishing they would disappear from politics because their intentions were questionable,” said Lee, who has decided not to vote this time.
In the Batu parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur, voters are stuck between a rock and hard place. “The presence of the 10 aspiring candidates is polarising and everything some of them say is confusing,” said retired teacher S Devi.
The people hate being patronised, do not like being bribed or told what to do.
Though we like to moan, nobody should doubt that we love our country. Politicians on their campaign trails never seem to understand that.
I’d like to end on a positive note but some things just don’t change. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, as with a broken LRT system that has been causing anguish to Kuala Lumpur commuters.
