In the last two years, our nation has witnessed some of the most tumultuous events in its history. UMNO which had helmed the nation without interruption since independence fell abruptly in 2018 in large part due to the massive 1MDB corruption scandal. In the year UMNO fell, ‘Merdeka’ was celebrated with renewed national pride; it was as if we had gained our freedom all over again. Hope for a new beginning, a national reset, soared.

We congratulated ourselves that such stupendous change had occurred peacefully. Indirectly making a comparison with the Arab spring, we prided ourselves that we were somehow more mature, more politically seasoned than our counterparts in the Middle East where anarchy has been a constant companion of political change.

Perhaps our self-admiration was a little premature; to be sure, there has been none of the violence and chaos but we are now witnessing the political instability that change invariably kindles.



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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — A top fundraiser for US President Donald Trump’s election campaign has been charged with lobbying allegedly on behalf of Low Taek Jho to get American authorities to end their 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigation.

According to the New York Times (NYT), Elliot Broidy was on the record as a significant fundraiser during Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

Broidy was indicted under his country’s Foreign Agents Registration Act for running an influence operation on behalf of Malaysian and Chinese interests.

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Anwar thanks Agong for granting audience next Tuesday, says will show ‘strong, convincing’ majority of MPs’ backing

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today thanked the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for granting him an audience next Tuesday, adding that he will show evidence of support from a “strong and convincing” majority of MPs for him to form a new government.

Anwar, who is PKR president, expressed gratitude to Allah for the Agong’s recovery from his recent illness.

“I would like to express my gratitude to His Majesty for granting me an audience to meet on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, Insha’Allah.



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The World Happiness Report 2020 for the first time ranks cities around the world by their subjective well-being and digs more deeply into how the social, urban and natural environments combine to affect our happiness. The report is released by the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network, using data from the Gallup World Poll.

This is the eighth World Happiness Report. Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the third year in a row. Since its launch in 2012, just four countries have taken the top spot: Denmark in 2012, 2013 and 2016, Switzerland in 2015, Norway in 2017, and Finland in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Finland reported a modest increase in happiness from 2015 to 2017, and has remained roughly at that higher level since then. It continues to occupy the top spot for the third year in a row, and with a score that is now significantly ahead of other countries in the top ten.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — PAS has finally made it into the Sabah state assembly after its state secretary, Dr Aliakbar Gulasan, was sworn in today as one of six nominated assemblymen.

The Islamist party did not contest a single seat during the September 26 Sabah election and has yet to win an election in the state.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang expressed his delight with Aliakbar’s appointment today, and thanked Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor for it.

“Many thanks to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for their trust in appointing Aliakbar Gulasan as a nominated Sabah assemblyman,” he said on Twitter.


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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — The government is not looking to inject cash or provide support to Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today, as the ailing national carrier continues to be in the red despite several major turnover bids.


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Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to scientists who discovered CRISPR gene editing tool for 'rewriting the code of life'

(CNN)The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for genome editing.

They discovered one of gene technology's sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and micro-organisms with extremely high precision.

Before announcing the winners on Wednesday, Göran K. Hansson, secretary-general for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said that this year's prize was about "rewriting the code of life."



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