It has been another eventful year for politics in Malaysia, with the formation of a unity government led by the country’s
10th prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The year also saw the nation transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19, with the reopening of borders in April.
However, the Batang Kali landslide disaster in Selangor cast a sombre mood towards the last few weeks of the year.
a rundown of notable events in 2022, abroad and at home.
1. The nation held its 15th general election on Nov 19, which saw Malaysian youths aged 18 to 20 voting for the first time. The election resulted in a hung parliament amid encouraging voter turnout, with various alliances claiming to possess the numbers to form the federal government.
2. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Adbullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah after the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the most seats in the general election but did not have a simple majority of 112 seats to form the government.
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle after reigning for 70 years, Prince Charles ascended the throne upon her death.
The hawkish regime of the US Federal Reserve, led by chairman Jerome Powell, raised interest rates – including four consecutive hikes of 0.75 basis points each during the year – to counter the effects of high inflation.
Lionel Messi lived up to his moniker “the Greatest of All Time” as he led Argentina to its third win at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar on Dec 18. Argentina beat France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after being tied 3-3 at the end of 120 minutes of play.
In May, hundreds of Indonesian smallholders staged a protest in Jakarta and other parts of the country, demanding that the government end its palm oil export ban that had slashed their income.
Continuous heavy rains for several days in December caused significant floods in Kelantan and Terengganu, making it necessary for several thousand people to be evacuated.
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27), which was held from Nov 6 to 20 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, saw more than 92 heads of state and an estimated 35,000 representatives, or delegates, of 190 countries attending.
An explosion on Oct 8 destroyed part of the Kerch bridge from Russia to Crimea, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prestige projects and a vital logistical link for the country’s military.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah granted an audience to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and four members of his cabinet to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and four members of his cabinet in conjunction with His Majesty’s state visit to the island republic on Oct 26.
The Batang Kali landslide, which had claimed 30 lives at the time of writing, is the worst landslide in Malaysian history since the one at Mount Kinabalu caused by an earthquake in 2015 that claimed 18 lives.
Civil unrest and protests against the Iranian government have been ongoing since Sept 16, following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The president of Sri Lanka’s official residence was stormed by thousands of protestors on July 9 as policemen and guards stood by and watched the unfolding event. The protestors demanded the resignation of the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa over economic mismanagement.
Billionaire Elon Musk brought in a sink to Twitter Inc.’s headquarters in San Francisco, as he walked into the building after completing the purchase of the popular social media platform for US$44 billion on Oct 27.
The leaders of the world’s top two economies, US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping, met in person for the first time since the US presidential election in 2020, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Nov 14.
The founder of Malaysia’s second-largest banking group, Public Bank Bhd, Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow, passed away on Dec 12. He was 92.
Most of the LRT Kelana Jaya line was shut down for five days from Nov 9 after the operator Prasarana Malaysia Bhd could not resolve issues pertaining to faulty electronic components in the line’s Automatic Train Control system.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Aug 2, which infuriated Beijing.
Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the first prime minister in Malaysia’s history to be convicted for corruption and sentenced to 12 years in jail, after his appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed, He is currently serving time in Kajang Prison.
Rishi Sunak became the UK’s first prime minister of Asian descent on Oct 25. He replaced Liz Truss, who had spent just 44 days as prime minister.
Israeli police stormed the funeral of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in East Jerusalem, as they tried to stop mourners and the crowd from carrying Palestinian flags as the procession went on, on May 13.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of failed crypto exchange FTX, was arrested in his apartment in Nassau on Dec 12. He faces criminal charges in the US, following the bankruptcy of FTX.
Xi Jinping began his third term as president of China on Oct 23
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Article from The Edge, Newspaper / Magazine Publication dated 26 Dec 2022, This following article is compiled by Kamarul Azhar and Cheryl Poo from The Edge
All rights reserved to the respective owners and authors of the article.
