I’ve been away for a while due to a death in the family, the exact details of which are too private to elaborate on here. Suffice to say that the treatment of groups of people like the disabled, the infirm and the mentally disturbed in our country serves as a stark reminder that for all of our gleaming skyscrapers and highways, Malaysia remains very much a third-world country.

2008 has been a very tumultous year for me so far. I started the year by basically getting fired, having to adapt to a new life here in Kota Kinabalu (though that was on balance a positive development), having my investments pummelled in the current market climate and now this. I daresay that this will be a year to remember in history as well. Between the Chinese Olympics and the devastation of the earthquakes in China before that, and the ongoing blood-letting in the U.S. markets with the U.S. presidential elections still to come, there will be plenty to remember this year for.