ARCHIVES 2008

Maybe long-time MIC chief S. Samy Vellu is acutely aware of the thickening master plot to oust him from power. Maybe he feels threatened. Maybe he wants to divert the attention of the media from his inevitable exit.

As we try to look ahead, the future would invariably require us to look back at the life and times of two individuals who would likely dominate our consciousness in 2009.

By Zainul Arifin, New Straits Times

(Business Times Singapore) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has come up with an original way to attack Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi without even mentioning his name.

How Najib and the remorseless Mahathir get along will be keenly watched in 2009. Will their relationship grate (as that of Mahathir and Abdullah) or will it be balmy as some political insiders believe it will surely be. Regardless, it is a time-honoured political truism that no man newly in power would want to be babysat by a former mentor.

CORRIDORS OF POWER

By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star

It is also crystal clear that hudud is not the most demanding issue that ought to be bulldozed and carried out in Malaysia, what more in a country that only comprise of about 60 per cent Muslims.

By Muaz Omar, The Malaysian Insider

Perhaps the real reform that the Umno leadership could do is to change its culture and find the idealistic young people to cultivate a new struggle for Umno to strive for. But it is unlikely for a leader to be selfless and clean up the mess left behind by the immediate predecessor.

By Nur Jazlan, The Malaysian Insider

Dec 16, Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said police will take action against Sungai Siput member of parliament Dr D. Jeyakumar for allegedly using children in Cycling for Change" campaign, organised by Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas or Oppressed People Network in Rawang.

The year draws to an end.

A kaleidoscope, 2008 defies description. In the swirl of colours and sounds, chords were struck and themes developed. I imagine an orchestra tuning up, falling silent and then suddenly and majestically playing a symphony of divine beauty.

By Nelson Benjamin, The Star

The Kluang MIC division leader has been hospitalised for three days now after he was kicked in the jaw by a branch leader during a meeting.

By R.S.N.Murali, The Star

KUALA TERENGGANU: The hardcore poor in Terengganu should be more innovative and creative instead of solely counting on the government to eradicate poverty, said Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said.