He made the call based on statistics provided by the ministry out of concern. But rather than accept the fact, the students have instead demanded that Dr Ghauth state his stand on the national language. Some individuals have even left nasty comments on YouTube, calling him biadap (recalcitrant) and khianat (traitor) for delivering the message.

But the good professor is sticking to his guns: he is prepared to clarify the matter with the unhappy students but he will not apologise to them.

Good for him. The demand is unreasonable. In fact, the students should be appreciative of the call by the ministry as it tells them what most employers already know – that the standard of English among many of our graduates is so poor it has become an alarming situation.

Many employers have adopted a pessimistic approach, accepting the situation as beyond repair because many school leavers and graduates are unable to construct a decent sentence in English. Many have no grounding in English grammar and are unable to even tell the difference between present and past tenses.

It is not just school leavers and graduates who are in this situation, as poor command of English can also be detected among university lecturers and teachers through their conversations and written work.

In fact, one deputy minister’s English is so bad, his writing has been circulated on the Internet as an example to show how bad the situation is.

He purportedly wrote a review of a play in English and posted it on his blog. With cyberspace being the open domain that it is, his weakness, unfortunately, was widely exposed. The horrifying part is that his portfolio is related to education and it does not help that he is also known for his anti-English stand.

The pattern seems to be that those who are the most vocal against the use of English are generally weak in this language. In their attempts to cover their weakness, they try to project themselves as nationalists and defenders of the sacredness of the national language. Denial syndrome, one may say.

There are, of course, those who speak impeccable English and would gladly trade our iconic teh tarik for English afternoon tea and scones but they project themselves in a similar fashion in the most hypocritical way for political expediency.

Most of us are sure that the problem is not confined to graduates of AMS alone. I dare say the problem of poor command of English has affected all faculties in all public universities. And, let’s be frank, it’s in private universities too.

It would also be most unfair to say that the poor standard of English is confined to Malay students. It is a problem among Chinese and Indians too because of our education policy, which has clearly abandoned English.

Young Chinese seem to have become almost monolingual. Walk into a shopping mall and, if you are Chinese, you will be approached by salesmen speaking in Mandarin or Cantonese. When you reply in English, they will struggle to converse with you.

Dr Ghauth has taken the right approach. He could have gained popularity by playing the racial card and told the AMS students how great they are and that they would be future leaders of the country. But he would be leading them down a false path.

When they remain jobless, like the thousands who already are, they will conveniently blame the government. They will also blame the private sector, claiming that they are showing preference for certain sectors of applicants. They will hope to be employed by the public sector which is increasingly bloated.

Many of our graduates have never been motivated to become entrepreneurs. Rather, the aspiration is to become civil servants. This is one serious area of concern if we wish to compete effectively with other countries. But this is another story.

In China, they are putting emphasis on the teaching of English. The young are being taught to pronounce English words correctly, whether the American or English way.

In India, English is still given priority even as nationalists there are trying to push Hindi.

Malaysians with a poor command of English are entering universities. There they find that the academic books are in English but the medium of teaching is in Bahasa Malaysia.

Many struggle to understand what they read and to help themselves, some turn to similar books in Bahasa Indonesia, which they again struggle to comprehend. Most of the contents in the Internet are in English and are therefore of no help to these students.

In cases where students are required to take an English course because their command of the language is so pathetic, these students try to memorise essays, hoping that the same topics would be in their tests. That’s how low we have sunk in our standard of English.

Unfortunately, most of our politicians are not brave enough to grab the bull by the horns to tackle the problem. Many of them, of course, would have sent their children to schools overseas to ensure they have a strong grounding in English.

Paul loves the rebellious attitude of Malay­sians who dare to stand up to the authorities. It reminds him of his American forefathers who “tea partied” the colonists.

When American kids think of the 4th of July, they only think of BBQ and fireworks. The truly independent spirit is now lacking among the young Americans who probably never had a “Tiger mom”.

Their idea of independence is the Fourth of July holiday and Will Smith’s apocalyptic-themed movie. If only they could learn from the Malaysians, he says.

The most daring part, he tells me, is that the offenders are posing proudly for the media with their long print-out of unpaid summonses.

“Who says the Malaysian middle class are cowards? I mean, many of the print-outs are longer than toilet rolls. It’s just amazing.”

And they even grumble loudly about the long queues, heat and the breakdown of the computer system (so Third World), blaming it on the incompetent police force.

But the fact that these flouters of the law can get away from the cops may mean that our law enforcers are busy chasing criminals instead of wasting time on such trivial matters as traffic offences. No wonder Malaysia has become safer, he says.

Paul says the police here also have a big heart. He is amazed that deadlines continue to be extended despite earlier stern and non-compromising warnings by those in authority.

He has also confronted me, in the typical straight on the face American-style, with an observation on how the media has been covering the Sodomy II case.

Paul, who has read every single word, every line and every sentence of the court case, is saying Malaysians are not as conservative as he has been made to believe.

So engrossed is he with the trial, he has regularly stolen office time to check online for the details of the sodomy case.

He is shocked at the detailed description of body parts and use of sexual terminology. No one seems to be red-faced, he noticed.

“I am addicted to the case. At the end of each story, it always says ‘more to come’. Never ‘details to follow’ but always ‘more to come’. You guys are funny – and I thought you guys have no imagination,” he tells me.

I have no answer to that because I have never even thought of it.

What’s with Paul? Is he Sarah Palin or what? Why is he picking faults? Why is he looking for hidden agendas when there’s none? I am already getting irritated and somewhat offended as the conversation has encroached into my territory.

He has another complaint. He does not understand the Malaysian obsession with soccer. That’s his word. We would rather call it football.

Every Malaysian he has met seems to ask each other what football team they support. He cannot comprehend why Malaysians get so excited watching 22 guys chasing a ball for 90 minutes – and most times only to see a goal or two being scored.

But what’s so wonderful about the football of the great United States of America, where the players kick each other on the field and most of the time they can’t even see the ball because they are all huddled together, pushing, shoving and roughing each other up?

And the English Premier League is a joke to him because most of the players are not even English. “Even in the sodomy trial, you guys have to talk about football. One lawyer spoke about half of a football team and around someone’s anus.”

He is still confused with Malaysians talking about “giving half a ball” when they bet on the outcome of the matches. All this talk about “balls” in football and politics have left him lost. He’s said that even the police like to use “bola 1, bola 2, bola over” when they talk over the radio.

“By the way, when are you taking me for the fishball soup which you have been raving about?” he asks. “Fish and balls? I can’t wait to try.”

I can see Paul is enjoying every minute of his stay in Malaysia. Truly paradoxical but truly Malaysian, too.

It is the tired mantra of most politicians: He can’t go because he still can’t find a successor; the possible successors are not ready; if he names them, they will end up killing themselves; and, of course, he will call it a day one day. That day, of course, will not be tomorrow or the day after. You do not have to be in Libya, or other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, to hear such empty political gibberish. Even at home, we are quite familiar with such ludicrous lines from our own ageing politicians.

We hope the move will also lead to Malaysian film-makers who produce works other than in Bahasa Malaysia enjoying financial support and incentives from the various government agencies.

Previously, a Malaysian movie that was not predominantly in Bahasa Malaysia was considered “foreign” unless 60% of its dialogue was in Bahasa Malaysia – even if it was Malaysian in terms of production, content and crew. But times have changed. There have been locally-made movies using Mandarin and other Chinese dialects, and some have won regional recognition and awards.

With Singapore busy developing its film industry, it makes sense for our Government to give more backing to our film-makers.

These Singapore-made movies already have financial support from Malaysian companies, such as Grand Brilliance Sdn Bhd, which see their marketability in their use of a mix of Mandarin, Hokkien and English.

They call this unique form of conversation “Singlish” while to us it’s “Manglish”, but ultimately it has struck a chord with audiences from both sides.

There is already collaboration between both sides in terms of cast, crew and even content, as it makes financial sense to use talents from both sides. After all, these movies should be screened in both countries to ensure they make money.

Film producers want to make as much money as possible before the pirates move in. There is very little time for the former to operate. Art is meaningless if film-makers are unable to pay the bills and the audience are not interested in what has been made. Getting rave reviews from film critics will not help either if the movies become box-office flops.

The move to expand the definition of Malaysian movies is a boost to the industry because everyone would benefit in the long term.

Most production personnel are Malay, even if these movies are not in Bahasa Malaysia. So are those involved in post-production work. It means greater employment opportunities.

There is also nothing to stop Malay film-makers from producing movies in other languages, besides the national language, with this development. Indonesia, in fact, has always been a stumbling block for Malay movies because of the often protectionist nature of the industry there. But there’s nothing to stop Malaysian film-makers from looking beyond traditional markets. With the Internet, movie lovers no longer just watch movies in cinemas and over television now.

The availability of video downloading facility has also been a boost and more young people are now buying movies via the Internet.

The New Straits Times, in a recent editorial, correctly pointed out that “for whatever the language medium, most Malaysian movies have fundamentally Malaysian stories to share. And unlike other multiracial countries, Malaysia is quite unique in that so many languages are freely used in everyday situations, in addition to there being a national language.

“To withhold encouragement of storytelling in other languages would be to limit the wealth multiculturalism has to offer through the arts.”

Astro has done a wonderful job producing Malaysian-themed movies using Mandarin and local Chinese dialects. Last year, Astro Shaw and Woohoo Pictures produced Tiger Woohoo, a film about five youths from different backgrounds who somehow end up in a small village on the East Coast and were persuaded to train and perform the tiger dance.

This year, it’s Homecoming, a movie about three individuals going home for CNY and was a collaboration between Malaysia’s Double Vision and Singapore’s Jack Neo’s J team.

Penangite Ah Niu’s Ice Kacang Puppy Love, for example, is also another Malaysian effort. The movie is set in the 1980s in the small town of Tronoh in Perak. The ice kacang is, of course, a very Malaysian dessert reflecting our way of life.

Besides making movies, many Malaysians such as Fish Leong and Ah Niu have made themselves well known in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. They have consistently flown the national flag, proudly promoting Malaysia when they perform, even if they sing in Chinese.

Malaysian movie-goers hope that local film-makers would now take up the challenge of producing movies in English. By that we mean Manglish. There have been TV series such as The Front Page that used Bahasa Malaysia and English. The Front Page, a series about news reporters, was shown on NTV7. Now, we have to take it a step further. After all, Singapore actor Gurmit Singh has made himself well known both in his home country and Malaysia playing contractor Phua Chu Kang with his own brand of English.

Despite the horribly deteriorating standard of English in Malaysia, it is still widely used by many Malaysians. So, there certainly is still a big pool of audience.

When it comes to movies, particularly comedy, crime and horror, there is always a universal following as long as the quality is good. It’s the same with music, with icons like Sheila Majid and Alleycats who sing in Bahasa Malaysia but have a huge non-Malay fan base.

They are not perceived as Malay singers but as Malaysian talents. And rightly so. Let’s give our talents all the support we can as they truly deserve it. It’s a piece of good news as we usher in the Year of the Rabbit. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all.

It would be naive of anyone at the Home Ministry to assume that there would be no objection to the proposal. The idea is preposterous and regressive in this Digital Age, and this can only happen when Analogue Age officials are unable to adapt to the changing political scenario. The world has moved on, so have Malay­sians, and no one should still be in control mode, attempting to stifle expression no matter how subtly.

After the 2008 general election, one would assume that the federal government would be more willing to adapt and to loosen the PPPA. But it has not happened.

There was a proposal for a one-off printing permit whereby magazines and newspapers would not need to renew their licences annually. It has not happened. But the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor has snubbed the Home Ministry by printing the Selangor Times, and the KDN officials seem utterly helpless and unable to deal with the situation.

The Selangor government has cleverly exploited a loophole that allows state governments to print such publications without a printing permit. The Barisan Nasional government probably never thought that the opposition would come to power in Selangor.

Harakah and Rocket are supposed to be restricted to PAS and DAP members respectively, but Malaysians can get these publications in most shops. Again, the KDN is unable to even enforce its own laws.

Unfortunately, those who toe the line imposed by the KDN are the ones who have to grapple with the numerous requirements of the ministry.

The powers of the KDN are currently restricted to the print media while online and electronic are under the purview of the Malay­sian Communications and Multimedia Com­mission (MCMC). Unless it involves security matters, the KDN has no business regulating the Internet. So, any amendment requiring the online media to apply for licences is not likely to get the support of anyone.

It goes against what former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had promised the world in the 1990s. Even Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has given such assurances.

The proposed amendments run contrary to the Communications and Mulitmedia Act 1998, it’s that simple.

Malaysia is not Myanmar and, surely, we are not going the Egyptian way, where over 80% of users were denied Internet access following the street protests last week.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, realising the potential in political damage from the statement, moved swiftly to downplay the issue. They said this was only at the discussion stage. A test balloon, perhaps, but it didn’t fly very far for sure.

There are already enough laws governing the media, specifically the print media, including having to get a printing permit annually. There are many other requirements which put the print media in an odd situation.

You can watch the sexy gyrations of female artistes on MTV but the KDN says there should be no show of cleavage or navel in print. TV boleh, print tak boleh.

The showing of armpits is not permissible in print, but on TV it’s fine because TV is under the purview of another ministry.

So, women in bikinis are not allowed to be shown in print but you can watch them in the beauty pageants on Astro.

Of course, showing of navels and armpits of beach volleyball players on TV is allowed too. Print, tak boleh, as “you can sexually arouse your readers”. Such are the contradictory and even biased requirements for print while the online portals are completely free from similar intrusions and restrictions.

But do not expect print journalists to support any amendment to restrict their online counterparts. Any journalist worth his/her salt should protest any move to tighten press freedom. It is sheer arrogance to expect the media to remain passive or non-reactive when they hear of more laws being planned because we are stakeholders. We do not want to be caught unawares. In fact, we should be consulted if there are plans to make regulations that impede our work.

Let’s not forget that most newspaper publishers and editors are now owners of online news portals. The largest online news portals, in fact, belong to the print media.

From the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, and Official Secrets Act to the many civil actions that can be used against the media, there are already enough laws. Let’s not put up even more. Malaysians want to hear the government announce moves to relax the media laws, whether print or online, not plug the loopholes.

Dissemination of information is no longer just through the newspapers, radio, television or computer these days. The most powerful tool is now the mobile phone.

There is no way the government can keep up with the rapid changes in technology. As such, it cannot be plugging every loophole relating to media law at every Parliament session because it will not be able to catch up.

Use the existing laws to clamp down on those who abuse their Facebook to spread hate and incite racial tensions.

More importantly, there must not be selective prosecution because the perception now is that some publications or portals seem to be able to get away with such reports.

Let there be fair enforcement of laws so that Malaysians will respect the law.

Loosen up, not tighten up. That should be the way the government deals with the media because the world has changed.

The PDC has reportedly incurred investment expenditure and debt of RM19mil, and another RM11mil in land premium which has yet to be paid to the Penang Land Administra­tor.

The sore point is that while the land premium has not been paid, it is said that the title deed has been issued.

Penangites have always treated Pulau Jerejak as a mysterious island, one that is so near yet so far because most parts have always remained restricted to the people even after the maximum security prison there was shut down in 1993.

There’s plenty of history in Pulau Jerejak: It was Captain Francis Light’s first stop during his voyage to Penang Island in 1786; it became the site of a health quarantine centre when immigrants swamped Penang; a leper asylum was built here in the late 19th century; and at different times in its history, it was the site of a German submarine base and a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients.

It eventually became known as the Alcatraz of Malaysia because of the Jerejak prison.

I have visited the island twice only. The first was in the 1980s when, as a rookie reporter, I went with lawyer Karpal Singh who took me along so I could see what it was like inside a prison.

I was restricted to the administration office while Karpal Singh spoke to his client. In fact, the boat that was supposed to take us there never showed up. We ended up travelling on a barge stacked with watermelons and with a few guards and a couple of prisoners as fellow passengers.

The other time was when The Star organised a youth programme at the newly-built resort in 2004. We arrived to find the resort almost deserted, and it did not take us long to find out why.

The large tract of forest behind it was under-utilised, so the eco-tourism part of it was neglected.

Unlike the sandy beaches along the touristy belt of Batu Feringghi, most parts of the island’s seaside are rocky, which makes swimming unsafe.

This could be a place for team-building exercises but not for tourists. There is only so much rock climbing and telematch exercises one can do before boredom seeps in.

The resort is only a small part of the 362ha island and unless there is an integrated plan to link up the whole area, any tourism plan is likely to fail. In short, not much creative thinking has been put into it.

More efficient transport, such as river boats similar to those in Thailand, to ferry tourists across from Batu Maung would help, for example.

The amenities on the resort were good but government agencies have never done well running hotels and restaurants. Let’s face it, most of the time service is bad.

Do a Google search and you will find angry comments posted by dissatisfied tourists who have visited the resort. A few have even included pictures in their posts to support their rants.

The running of tourism programmes should not be left to civil servants but to the professionals who would be fired if they missed sales targets or chalked up losses from government-run subsidiaries.

In fact, Penangites have the right to demand more answers to explain this fiasco. No one should give ridiculous excuses and expect to get away with it. We are talking about RM30mil in losses here!

It’s our money and the Public Accounts Committee should take up the issue immediately. Stop playing political games and come up with decent answers. Even if we cannot recoup the money, at least we can learn from the mistakes.

In the first place, how could the PDC end up with only a minority share, which effectively means they do not have the final say in how the tourist development project would be run?

It is basic business sense that you must have the controlling stake, especially when the state owns the island.

The failure of TIR is the result of poor planning, management and marketing, it’s as simple as that. We should be man enough to take responsibility and stop blaming terrorists, rogue speculators and diseases for the fiasco in Pulau Jerejak.

Last week, it was reported that UEM-EPF remained the only bidders for PEB after unknown Jelas Ulung failed to put in the stipulated RM50mil deposit required to undertake the acquisition and MMC Bhd did not put in their bid.

MMC is the operator of Tanjung Pelepas, the country’s largest container terminal, and Johor Port, and will also be involved in the construction of the MRT with Gamuda Bhd.

In its filing with the stock exchange, MMC said it had not received any indication from the Government on its proposal to acquire PLUS via the acquisition of its parent company, UEM Group. UEM and EPF made a joint offer to buy PLUS and all its business undertakings, including all its assets and liabilities, for RM23bil last October.

What has this seemingly corporate exercise got to do with ordinary Malaysians? Plenty, because it could determine how much we have to fork out for our toll in the coming years. It will also decide how much taxpayers will have to pay PLUS, as a highway operator, each time the Government says there would be no toll hike for the next five years.

A “no hike in toll” announcement may sound like good news, but the reality is that the Government has to compensate PLUS. There is no such thing as a free lunch and government money simply is our money. We wonder why our Members of Parliament even bothered to cheer.

The last time such an announcement was made, it cost us RM5bil, and that did not include the RM2.5bil in outstanding compensation. That, unfortunately, is the current concession agreement between the Government and PLUS.

There is supposed to be a toll rate increase of 10% every three years for the remainder of the concession period until May 2020.

We are all waiting for a time when the Prime Minister says toll rates will not go up or will be waived and it really means that!

The acquisition of PLUS should not be regarded as a business deal in which Malay sians have no say.

The ordinary rakyat should be interested and follow the matter closely because we will be affected by every decision that ensues.

The show hasn’t ended, so Malaysians can still keep track. Although UEM-EPF is the only bidder, and from the surface it may seem as if all is over, it does not appear to be so.

The North-South highway may seem like a pretty straight road but it does have some twists and turns. Likewise the acquisition of PLUS, and the drama could be starting soon. The side shows include GLC bigwigs threatening to quit their posts, a high-level power play, over-inflated egos, political influences and the kind of behind-the-scenes dealings found only in fiction.

MMC has snubbed the deadline requirements to submit its bid. In short, it is saying we will deal with the Government because our idea has not been rejected by the top.

MMC is saying that if it gets to take over PLUS, it will freeze the toll hike until the concession ends in 2020 and there will be no further extension of the concession period, which ends in 2038.

It claims it can still make money from the deal – even without toll hikes and compensation – if it gets to re-look an existing agreement between PLUS and Propel Bhd, which maintains the highways at a cost of between RM400mil and RM500mil.

It may not be a household name but Propel, or Project Penyelengaraan Lebuhraya Bhd, is the largest highway maintenance company in Malaysia. It undertakes repair and maintenance works along the highways, earning a profit of RM60mil from the contract. Along the way – or highway, if you like – sub-contractors, some with political connections, also acquire millions from this arrangement, it is believed.

There has to be a better way to make things right. That would include unwinding the agreement between PLUS and Propel, so that the former gets to keep the profit. MMC is attempting to convince its powerful listeners that it will cover the shortfall in future revenue.

We need to ask whether there has been enough cost-savings exercises to reduce duplication and wastage in operating the highway.

What MMC has not said so far is that it could be eyeing the land bank along the North-South highway, which is now under-utilised but could be useful and even highly priced for rail link projects.

There is also no serious development of existing rest areas to generate non-toll revenue. In the United States, there are many factory outlets located along the highways and people actually travel to these places to shop.

MMC’s ambition may now have become more expensive; when it submitted its RM15.5bil shares, the share price of PLUS was much lower.

With each passing day, with the drama yet to end, the stakes are becoming higher and tension is increasing.

But for Malaysians, our only concern is whether we will continue to shoulder the burden of toll rate hikes every three years. We are stakeholders too.

The Government has to consider that whoever gets to acquire PLUS must benefit us, the voters, and not just shareholders of the companies involved.

The Government should be relieved of having to pay compensation, at our expense, which really does not benefit us in the end.

In Galas, the Chinese turned their backs to PAS and the Barisan won in all the Chinese areas, which was a major turn of events.

The assessment is that the Indians are also returning to the Barisan, which would be crucial in a tight race. In Hulu Selangor, a substantial amount of votes went to P. Kamala nathan, which helped him to beat ex-PKR stalwart Zaid Ibrahim convincingly with a 1,725 vote majority.

On the opposition front, the much reported feud among PKR leaders has certainly bled the party. The problem does not seem to be ending yet, what with the party now having to grapple with rebel Padang Serai MP Gobalakhrishnan.

He has been given a show cause letter but he has refused to quit, which makes him a thorn in the party with his daily criticism of the leadership.

In Sabah, where the PKR has depended on Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, with the leadership even appointing him a vice-president, the foray has been disastrous.

Kitingan is known to be a party-hopper with poor credentials. Either the PKR leaders did not notice this right from the beginning, or they had little choice with their limited grip on Sabah politics and had to rely on him.

Kitingan has announced his plans to set up a new party and is likely to get more PKR leaders and members to shut down their branches, none of which would be good publicity for the party.

Without Sabah and Sarawak, the road to Putrajaya is beyond the reach of Pakatan Rakyat. Out of the 222 parliamentary seats, the Barisan holds 29 out of the 31 seats in Sarawak, while the DAP has two seats. In Sabah, the Barisan holds 22 parliamentary seats, SAPP two and the DAP one.

Except for the DAP, which has performed well in Sarawak’s predominantly Chinese urban areas, there has been zero impact from PAS or the PKR.

The Sarawak state election must be held by July but the prediction is that polls could be called by June after the important Gawai celebrations. There are 71 seats up for grabs with only eight held by the opposition.

It is likely that the Prime Minister will kick off his nationwide visits with Sarawak, possibly during the Chinese New Year period.

Despite talk of a simultaneous Sarawak general election, it is more wishful thinking on the part of some Sarawak politicians. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would prefer to use Sarawak as a barometer and even as a Barisan morale booster.

Losses in urban areas are expected with Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud being an issue among the voters while the Sarawak United People’s Party is struggling to win back the Chinese votes.

But campaigning in Sarawak, where most areas are rural, is about the control of logistics, namely helicopters, boats and four-wheel drive vehicles. Forget blogging and rabble-rousing speeches in these isolated areas, some of which are bigger in size than some states in the peninsula.

There are also several foreign engagements that Najib has committed to and while they can be cancelled, the likelihood is that these trips would proceed.

It is also most likely that the PM would prefer to let the public see and feel the impact of his numerous economic transformation programmes. Many of the huge projects, especially public transport systems, would need to be launched first to emphasise the point that the Barisan has a real economic and administration plan.

The only possible window period, if elections are to be held this year, would be around August and September. The monsoon season would have started in October, which would make campaigning difficult in the east coast states.

We can safely write off November and December, as most Malaysians would be clearing their leave. These would include the civil servants and police whose presence is necessary to ensure that elections are carried out smoothly.

It would be a long-drawn campaign this year because no one wants to be caught unprepared. It will be a test of political stamina and resources.