Now that the battlelines for the 15th General Election have been drawn, new political wannabes and battle-weary veterans are going all out to convince us that they're our best bet for the next five years. Or are they?
It won't be easy to evaluate the newbies but those who have been around for ages would be easier to gauge, especially whether they have been up to mark or have led us up the garden path with their twisty and back-stabbing narratives.
A ballot paper is a priceless "instrument" as it will determine the nation's future as well as our own.
Scrutinise we must and not be swayed by sweet talk during the campaign period. Some may promise us the sky, some the moon and stars.
And there may be rabble- rousers who will say: if you don't vote for me or my party, something bad is going to happen.
In the last 50 years or so, these people have played this record of fear to rake in the votes.
This is a "clever" way to campaign since people generally yearn for a harmonious environment with better livelihoods.
They want better jobs, amenities and living conditions. They also want any economic or social rot to stop.
Recently, Prem Rawat, 65, often described as a global peace ambassador, was in town.
I asked this eloquent motivational speaker, who heads a Los Angeles-based foundation that advances dignity, peace and prosperity, why there are many downtrodden people around
the world who find it hard to eke out a living while the political elite are having the time of their lives.
And why are people desperate enough to uproot themselves and move to another country?
Not as expatriates (banish the thought) but just as labourers because the pay is so much better.
I asked him why the world is filled with people who have poor access to basic needs like nutrition, water, health and education? What are the impediments to people from having better lives?
Are they, the governed, being given a raw deal by those who profess that they can govern well?
Rawat said: "In my opinion, public servants should be people who don't think about themselves, but about other people.
"This should be a basic qualification in reality and not just in words.
"Today, wherever you look, it is not about the people, it's only about the people who come asking for votes.
"And it immediately turns to the narrative of 'how will it benefit me?' Meaning, the politicians."
However, Rawat reasons that it doesn't mean that there are no good politicians.
"There are, but they are so far and few in between that they get masked by the other train that keeps coming by and blowing its whistle and saying, 'This is the way it is, and this is the way it is'."
He is alluding to a difficult situation where even the righteous get overwhelmed by the many not-so-upright politicians and administrators.
Rawat, the author of the motivational book, Hear Yourself, reveals that the tool that's often used to manipulate the world is called fear.
"And everybody uses this: fear, fear and fear. But I want to advocate: don't be afraid."
He said that as soon as one renders this tool called "fear" useless, the world will begin to change.
To drive home his point, he adds: "Even if you're not educated, that doesn't mean you're nothing.
"So far, you haven't hit the other wall (and expire as a person). You're someone, you're something, and you've potential (to change the situation for the better).
"If you're incredibly educated, if you're incredibly well-off, the same thing for you: don't be afraid."
He added: "The solutions (for a better future) are simple. When fear is taken away, can you begin to see what the potential is?"
He made me ponder deeply. What about you?
The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief
