My picks for top 5 news stories of the year

“The headlines screamed at him as soon as he saw the paper. He almost screamed back.” Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

COMMENT | Like my picks for the top five newsmakers, my choices for the top five news stories are, I suppose, counter-intuitive.

These are not the stories that gained the most traction. However, I think these stories deal with marginalised communities or issues that provoke strong reactions.

Like my choices for top newsmakers, I think these stories tell us who we are as a people and if I sound cynical, maybe there can never really be any form of genuine unity except for a fragile peace brokered by compromised political operatives.

I can honestly say, that I believe that removing the Najib Abdul Razak regime, was necessary but I struggle with the reality that there seems to be very little difference if Dr Mahathir Mohamad stayed in Umno and removed Najib and the situation now, which is that he abandoned Umno for Harapan and removed Najib.

The old maverick is, slowly cobbling together a new home for the supremacist in this country abetted by a new breed of articulate sycophants.

Time is not on our side.

Here are my top five news stories, in no particular order.

State sanctioned murder

The government’s tabling of the bill to abolish the death penalty coupled with their earlier initiatives to limit the death penalty to certain cases is welcome news for a regime that seems to turn backtracking into an art. The death penalty provokes strong reactions especially from people who use religion as a means to buttress their arguments for what is essentially murder.

I believe that even if the death penalty could be justified using some form of utilitarian argument, the fact is that Malaysia is the last country which should have this “penalty”. Race, class and religion are intimately linked in this country, as is the state security apparatus that has demonstrated that in many ways, it is above the law.