Tomorrow's elections will be unfree and unfair. Unfree because voters cannot make a free choice when they are intimidated by the fear of violence. And unfair because Barisan Nasional has near complete monopoly of the mass media.

The "fear factor" has no doubt been one of the most potent weapons in BN's arsenal. It was extremely effective in spooking voters to back BN in previous elections.

Take Penang in 1995. Then, the DAP mounted a protracted campaign, "Tanjung 3", to wrest the state from BN. Judging by the crowds DAP pulled at its ceramahs during the election campaign, party leader Lim Kit Siang would had been the next chief minister. However, in the final few days of the campaign, BN invoked the spectre of the 1969 race riots. Expect trouble, BN leaders warned. Ironically, among them was then deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

Apparently, on polling day, Penang voters figured that if others were to vote DAP, then they would offset it by giving their votes to BN. It turned out that almost all voters were thinking very much along the same lines. The result: DAP was almost wiped out. Of the 14 state seats it held, only one was retained.

This voter decision was not based on raw emotions. It was a perfectly rational decision - one based on fear.

The "fear factor" is again being exploited, with perhaps greater intensity, in this election. BN chief Mahathir Mohamad predicted, time and again, that "violence" would break out during the campaign period. The barrage of "violent" advertisements in the mass media confirms the BN strategy.

BN leaders have defended these ads as statements of fact. Yesterday, Mahathir argued that the pictures were the same broadcast by CNN and CNBC. Not quite.

The pictures shown by the foreign media contain mainly footage of the police, not protestors, running riot. Which was why the government-owned RTM refused to help foreign journalists feed the footage internationally. Instead, the tapes had to be flown down to Singapore for transmission.

Despite much talk of the Internet breaking the government's monopoly of information, the traditional media, with its far wider reach, has been calling almost all the shots, as the past week shows. So, while Mahathir has often maintained that a level playing field is a prerequisite for free competition in a globalised world, unfortunately, he is unwilling to apply the same rules to the elections.

That said, democracy is more than just going to vote every five years. It is about our elected representatives conducting public affairs in an open and transparent manner, and that they are accountable to the people at all times. Above all, it is about having a free media, an independent judiciary, a competent anti-corruption agency and a professional police force.

For those disenfranchised new voters, don't despair. The struggle to reclaim our collective future begins today, not the next elections in 2004.

With good governance becoming a growing global concern, it is discouraging to note that BN has not committed itself to greater transparency and accountability. It is clearly the only political party without a position on corruption.

Tomorrow Malaysians will decide. The time for change is now. We call on our readers to vote, if not for a new government, then at least a strong opposition. Don't pawn our future away by supporting corrupt leaders. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.