In Malaysia there is the election road. This is a road which has been unpaved for decades, and now is to be paved in return for votes given to keep the pavers in power. No vote, no road. The local villagers laugh when they refer to the newly paved roads. The game is not new to them.

But there are many villages which have no paved roads. They have voted for an opposition party in the past, and have given no assurance that they want to change. So the road stops at the boundary line. No vote, no road. It is a stalemate.

The same is true for water and electricity. There is no shame. It is part of the practical politics of the region. There are those who will not take the pavement, the running water, and the electricity in exchange for their vote. They prefer their independence, and proudly exhibit their dirt road as a sign that they have integrity. They hold their heads high, in defiance of a political party apparatus they consider unethical, unprincipled and totally selfish in its administration of public business.

The Umno-BN coalition government engages in money politics. They admit it openly. This term covers a range of abuse, from rewarding the party operatives to denial of services to anyone deemed to support an opposition party. Both activities rankle, and over the years the irritation has grown to adult dimensions. The paving machinery is now seen to be a liability, and its sudden presence in the area of an election tends to turn more votes than it gains.

Votes are bought not only with roads. Cloth for sarongs is a staple, as are bicycles and tree-climbing monkeys trained to downdrop coconuts. These last are known locally as Umno monkeys. The map of Malaysia may be divided into those districts with Umno-BN representatives and those which have chosen an opposition party representative. The roads, the water lines, and the electricity abrupt end at the boundary. Everyone understands the reason. The lines are drawn. It is an undeclared war.

Many of the opposition districts have chosen an opposition PAS representative. Two entire states have also chosen a PAS government. As punishment, the Umno-BN coalition party in power has denied a soft loan for water supply improvement to one state and withdrawn oil royalties due the other.

The ruckus has been such that the oil royalty money has had to be returned, though not under the opposition party's control. This is not considered acceptable, and the matter is going before the courts. The irony is that PAS will win with either decision. If the decision is to return the royalty, PAS rolls in renewed royalties. If the decision is to uphold the illegal act, wily PAS will win the next general election in a walkaway.

The denial of financial funding for essential services is a fundamental failure of government. In this instance it cannot be excused as incompetence. It is seen as an intentional betrayal of public trust. No administration with this hackneyed history deserves further support, and this fact is being played out across Malaysia. Even loyal districts with paved roads find the policy unfair. They have relatives in the opposition kampungs, and must travel to see them over the same unsurfaced roads.

The policy of denying essential services is nothing but political blackmail. In districts which voted the opposition ticket, anyone who loyally voted for the Umno-BN candidate is punished, along with the majority who have preferred the opposition. This policy punishes the loyal along with the traitors. Such petty party practices have permanently alienated the electorate.

Perhaps, though, the days of financial gerrymandering are finally coming to an end. During the recent Lunas election the pavers were out in force, laying roads so fast that many voters had to scurry to avoid being paved over. Any unguarded alley, any passage appearing in the dusk to be a path, was paved with equal alacrity.

Alas, it was all to no avail. The district was lost to Umno-BN. The people are thinking beyond roads. Principle won over political blackmail and payout. A lesson was available for the learning. But the lesson goes awaste. There is no sign of change. The enmity toward the opposition simmers, though in a subdued key, a lull-a-bye, a truce, while secretive serenades are sung to soothe the Malaysian scene.

One sees no new roads being paved in PAS or DAP districts. Their representatives are not allocated development funds. The water lines are not being extended. The electricity and other services provided to Umno-BN districts are not being provided. Yet the large expenditures on useless mega-projects continue apace. One notes though, these always take place in the loyal districts.

The public money is being wasted on projects which serve only the favored few, and there is no platform offered to the opposition from which to voice objection. Until this policy is reversed, one wonders what will be discussed. For a Muslim, it is more than mildly disconcerting to watch the PAS leadership as it enters the flea-bitten lion's cage, innocently putting its spiritual head between the bent and broken teeth of the un-benevolent beast. Perhaps they have only come to say, "The present paving policy puts paid to any possibility of political back-patting."