The year 2008 is coming to an end. I remember that I had described 2007 as an “annus horribilis” in my 2008 New Year message on 31st December last year.

Malaysians had heaved a sigh of relief at the end of 2007, a year which had opened with such great promise as it was to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation.

But 2007 proved to be an “annus horribilis” (a horrible year) for Malaysians.

Despite the 50th Merdeka anniversary costing over RM100 million of taxpayers’ money in public celebrations, 2007 proved to be one of the most divisive and troubled year in the half-a-century of Malaysia’s nationhood as well as one of great disappointment as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failed in his four-year report card to fulfill the great pledges of reform for which he was given the landslide historic 2004 general election victory in winning over 91 per cent of the parliamentary seats.

The result is the March 8 political tsunami in the last general election nine months ago and the belated promise by Abdullah to fulfill at least three reform pledges before he steps down as Prime Minister in March.

Yesterday, DAP and Pakatan Rakyat MPs supported the passage of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill with great reservations and considerable unhappiness, as nobody in government is really convinced that when the bill is implemented, the MACC can rival the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong or Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) or that Malaysia will catapult to be among the world’s ten or second least corrupt nations in the world from the lowly 47th place in the 2008 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index. Read the rest of this entry »