It's interesting to see that as we are nearing the Permatang Pauh by-election polling day, the amount of pro-BN propaganda churned out by the main stream media and BN ministers has hit a level that skims the bottom of the barrel of human decency.

BN has attacked Anwar Ibrahim both directly and indirectly. Character assassination plots extend further than just the sodomy charges, now there is even a charge that Anwar Ibrahim acted inappropriately towards a datuk's wife. On top of all that, Anwar Ibrahim's pass performance in government is back under the spotlight.

It is ironic why BN never point to the fact that whatever Anwar Ibrahim put into place when he was a BN minister was fully endorsed by the BN administration at that time. It was not a decision, solely, made by one man but a decision made by the establishment; so pining the responsibility on only Anwar Ibrahim is wrong all together.

In-direct action against Pakatan Rakyat has also intensified during the days leading up to and also during the campaign period for Permatang Pauh. The arrest of the Perak Keadilan Exco Members screams bloody "political conspiracy", a charge Najib Razak denied. But the timing of all these things point sole to the under-hand tactics employed by BN to build perception of the negative kind towards Anwar Ibrahim and also towards Pakatan Rakyat. Old tactics are employed with the hope of turning the voters towards their UMNO candidate.

But BN will fail in this regards. These tactics may have worked in the past but not anymore. The voters that stepped out to vote during the 12th General Election for Permatang Pauh are still the same who would vote on the 26th August 2008. The angry sentiments of the voters towards BN are still fresh and these are the sentiments that would guide voters to vote come 26th August 2008. With the blatant attacks by BN, both directly and in-directly towards Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat, the voting public in Permatang Pauh feel their intelligence insulted. All that is portrayed in main-stream-media about the resounding support BN is getting from the Permatang Pauh people does not tell the real story.

PAS was quick to note, the people you see in those pro-government news reports are party workers. The general public's turn out is minimal. The support for Anwar Ibrahim is huge and it does not get reported in main stream media. Such bias reporting by main stream media (an old BN tactic) is actually helping the Pakatan Rakyat's cause.

Having Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ) screaming his head off, calling for Anwar to take the oath (much like Saiful did) to prove his innocence is not going to help either. KJ himself has much to answer, over his role in the whole sodomy debacle especially when he had fore-hand news about Anwar's arrest even before the rest of parliament knew about it. Having KJ present in Permatang Pauh would only aggravate the situation because he is really not that popular among the populace who see him as merely getting where he is by virtue of being the Prime Minister's son-in-law. As Kit Siang pointed out, KJ is the richest unemployed man in Malaysia. As member of parliament, KJ is neither here or there, making lots of noise but little to show for.

Najib giving out the RM 300,000 cheque to Lee Chong Wei in Permatang Pauh has not helped anything at all. It merely shows the blatant abuse of power practiced by BN all this while, which the public is very much aware of now. Najib could have presented the cheque in Kuala Lumpur rather than in Permatang Pauh.

So why fly Chong Wei to Permatang Pauh? Propaganda stunt and it was such acts that irked the people during the 12th General Election. The BN never learnt their lessons. The people are not interested in BN's show of power or supremacy, instead they just want a leader who would meet their needs. Not just show or tell them what to do but actually get their hands dirty are really bring about change in Permatang Pauh.

The BN propaganda machine has got it all wrong. Discrediting Anwar Ibrahim in order to gather the Malay votes, pumping funds towards the Chinese and Indian communities and scare tactics in places outside of Permatang Pauh will not do any good for them. The general public has wised up to everything BN has to offer. The blatant abuse of power on all levels of the government is glaring and no amount of bias reporting by main stream media can cover it up. The misdeeds of the BN politicians that have gone unpunished all this while is heavy on people's mind.

All the calls for Anwar to swear his innocence in the sodomy charge should by right be balanced out by calls for Najib to swear his innocence in the Altantuya's case or KJ's to swear his non-involvement in the running of the country by proxy.

Najib was right to say that everything they do now is considered political conspiracy because the rakyat is also looking at your pass deeds not just merely what you are doing now and it is not just limited to things in Permatang Pauh but to everything that the BN government is doing.

Permatang Pauh is going to be more than just a lost of a parliamentary seat for BN. A lost in Permatang Pauh would further erode every inch of credibility BN has as an institution that governs this country.

Permatang Pauh has cemented further the resentment the rakyat has towards BN and this would only translate towards more votes for Anwar Ibrahim.