The election should have been a gentleman’s war. If the fighters must really “collect bullets” to down the enemies, then the bullets must be something benefiting the nation, not slanders and boastful babbles.

Now that the election commission has announced the nomination and polling dates for the 15th general election, we can expect some exciting dramas in the pipeline.

BN, PH and PN still have some time before the nomination day to negotiate their terms leading to the formation of new alliances. But we only have 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs and each camp will need to first make sure they get to field as many of their own candidates as possible in the event two of the three major camps are to forge an election alliance.

Judging from the current situation, it appears that BN is the only camp that could possibly win more than half of all the seats even though they might not have the confidence to break that threshold.

Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has said BN will only negotiate with other parties to form a joint government after the election, and it’s too early now to talk about any possibility.

Indeed, no one knows what is going to happen in the election, and it looks like he lacks sufficient confidence for a sure win. To put it a little more seriously, Umno has shown its lack of confidence before the election war is even started, something that is a big no-no in any war!

In ancient China, a general would have to swear to the chief commander to complete the war mission or he would have his head lopped off.

Election is akin to a war, and a candidate must not say: Let me try, perhaps I will win, who knows?

Ismail Sabri is, verily, half the commander (the other half being Ahmad Zahid), but he is not resolved to win the war, and that is a big taboo in any war!

GE15 is an excellent opportunity for BN to retake the federal administration (in a fair and square way). By comparison, Umno’s president has been more reliable.

Ahmad Zahid said the landslide victories in Melaka and Johor as well as seven other by-elections showed that BN could win alone. He even said Umno was united and determined to win the election and that there were no rival factions within the party.

Well, we have no way to tell how true Ahmad Zahid’s claim is, but bear in mind that even though what he said may not be wholly true, the morale-boosting statement may eventually become a reality if chanted repeatedly for some time.

Election is more than just getting the voters to drop their ballots into the boxes at the polling stations, and as such, a confidence booster that will lift the party’s morale is of paramount importance. In no way should we belittle ourselves before the outcome of the battle is made public.

In Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel, Don Quixote plays the hypocrite with a toothpick in the street in the midst of hunger and solitude, even though he has eaten nothing to require that act of cleanliness. This is what we are talking about!

Talking about psychological warfare, DAP has always been an expert in this art. In the last election, the party vowed to “wipe out MCA with an election tsunami” (and indeed, MCA was almost totally wiped out back then, with Wee Ka Siong being the lone survivor).

This time, Anthony Loke and his comrades are prepared to “collect bullets” to bring down Liow Tiong Lai. Crude as it is, the description “collect bullets” nevertheless seems to resonate quite well with the local Chinese community.

It looks like BN is willing to be led by the nose by “bullets.” Instead of averting the phrase “collect bullets,” it is more than happy to join the fray.

The caretaker PM says he has provided BN with many “bullets” to stop the opposition from recapturing Putrajaya.

So we thought BN’s “bullets” must have been great measures that would benefit all rakyat, revitalize our ailing economy, tame the spiraling inflation and guide the country’s long-term development…

In the end, we came to realize that the caretaker PM’s so-called “bullets” were: publishing the investigation report on ex-AG Tommy Thomas, possible “negligence” on the part of Tun Mahathir over the Batu Putih issue, and that Anwar Ibrahim’s royal pardon was possibly illegal.

The election should have been a gentleman’s war. If the fighters must really “collect bullets” to down the enemies, then the bullets must be something benefiting the nation, not slanders and boastful babbles.

And to win a war, overflowing confidence is the prerequisite, not the lack of it!