The word 'missing' can be applied to the core of the unresolved issues in this annual series - to personalities, promises and principles. Here's this year's wish-list for action.

Now you see him, now you don't

Self-proclaimed spiritual leader Ayah Pin, 65, remains an enigma in more ways than one. He pulled off a very public disappearing act from his commune in Terengganu, even as authorities were arresting his followers in July.

Some say he escaped into the jungle behind the commune in Kampung Batu 13 in a remote corner of the state that borders Kelantan. Others are convinced he is now in southern Thailand.

What is beyond dispute is that the community of 150 has been dispersed and the centrepiece of their commune has been demolished - several giant replicas of such mundane objects as an umbrella, boat and teapot that drew both the curious and those seeking solace.

About 70 of them now face syariah charges for insulting the state religious authority by defying its edict against Ayah Pin. A land-related dispute with state authorities is pending in court, filed by Ayah Pin's first wife who is the registered owner of the land where the commune was built.

Reality, however, pales against the imagination as questions arise: Where is Ayah Pin? How did he escape despite a state-wide police dragnet? Was the demolition of the structures lawful? Whither religious freedom?

Missing, presumed dead

It has been 20 months since G Francis Udayappan went missing from police custody while being questioned for petty theft.

The Brickfields police claim that he escaped from their custody by jumping into the Klang River, but his mother, G Sara Lily, claims that he was killed and his body was dumped in river.

When a highly decomposed body was retrieved a month later from the river, Sara Lily claimed it as that of her son. The police were less sure since DNA tests failed to prove a match.

A coroner's inquest is underway to determine the identity. What was to be a three-day proceeding has dragged on for more than a year, partly due to legal wrangling and frequent postponements.

It is not just this sorry saga that needs to be put to rest - the body in the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre mortuary requires the same attention.

Blurry alternative coalition?

Blurry. This is the only way to describe the future of the opposition coalition Barisan Alternatif (BA) comprising PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat and whose de facto adviser is former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Consider the performance of senior partner PAS in the Dec 6 by-election in Pengkalan Pasir , Kelantan. It lost one of its strongest state constituencies to Barisan Nasional.

The loss was despite Anwar's open support for the party and PAS' dogged effort to soften the party's image , including staging Kelantan's first ever pop concert featuring famous singer Mawi a couple of months earlier.

It would seem that the coalition has not gained its composure following its fall in the 2004 general election . Hopes and speculation that Anwar's release from prison would boost the opposition remain a theory.

To run salt into the wound, discussions to bring DAP back into the BA fold have not shown results to date.

Will the BA come up with a winning formula that reflects the glory days of 1999 when it had 42 seats in Parliament and two states under its belt? With the next general election due in 2008, it had better start thinking quickly.

NCR land issue haunts Sarawak leaders

Several hundred native customary rights (NCR) landowners in the Lundu and Sri Aman districts of Sarawak have complained about the blatant takeover of their land by the state government and private firms for oil palm plantations.

Some have filed legal suits, but the action taken by others has bordered on the violent. In Pantu, Sri Aman, the landowners, mainly Ibans, set up barricades to prevent machinery belonging to a private company from entering the NCR locations. Several villagers were arrested following their involvement in scuffles with company employees.

The Pantu NCR dispute is set to be highly explosive in the state election scheduled for early next year, particularly since the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) land scheme has been implicated in the land development activities.

In November, Pantu hosted a visit by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim who declared his concern and promised his help to assist the Dayak NCR landowners "obtain what is rightfully theirs".

How much of a thorn in the flesh will the issue prove to be for the powerful Sarawak BN government come the next state polls?

More pain than gain in oil price hike

2005 saw a hat-trick of petrol price hikes following the reduction in subsidies. The public have been warned to brace for another round of increases in the coming year.

The prices of petrol and diesel rose sharply in Malaysia in tandem with the global trend . In addition, the government faced off diesel smugglers as supply vanished and nearly crippled the heavy transportation sector and industrial activity.

National oil company Petronas was the only entity left smiling. It raked in RM35.5 billion in profits for the 2005 fiscal year. Naturally, it was asked to share its spoils to help cushion the impact of rising inflation.

The rise in transportation cost has led to a spate of price hikes in food, bus and taxi fares, and just about everyone is feeling the pinch. But the worst is yet to come.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has promised that there would not be another increase in fuel prices this year. That deadline will come to an end this weekend as we usher in the new year.

The public will soon have to endure another inevitable fuel hike. The question is when and by how much.

'Outing' a Malaysian phobia

They have crossed the boundary that traditionally separated both genders. Transsexuals, however, are no closer to gaining real recognition where it matters - in terms of their identity and basic human rights.

The government has no clear to policy to determine the status of the transsexual community and appears to be in no hurry to rectify the matter.

Transsexuals have faced difficulties in dealing with the immigration and road transport departments, purchasing health insurance and houses and obtaining bank loans. In one instance, a police strip search turned out to be an ordeal for Mumtaz , who was deemed to be a male.

In November, the high-profile marriage of a transsexual Jessie Chung to her partner, accountant Joshua Beh, sparked a debate about the identity of the minority group. It only reinforced conservative attitudes in the corridors of power.

Transsexuals have long been shunned or ridiculed - or both - by Malaysians. Now that their problems have been placed in the public domain, will they benefit from the principles of natural justice?

Broga: New questions over old issue

Most small-town folks would have thrown in the towel when faced with an adversity of governmental proportions. Not residents of Kampung Baru Broga, though.

It has been three years since a loathed mega-incinerator project was relocated to Broga in November 2002 and the lid remains tightly shut on all sources of information.

The residents have taken their case to court to try and stop the RM1.5 billion project, and won a temporary stay in February. They continue to monitor developments such as a study completed in March to consider moving the incineration plant - one of the world's biggest - to lower ground.

The addendum to the detailed environmental impact assessment study has been put on display to elicit public comments .

In November, residents from nearby Taman Tasik Semenyih raised funds to file an action to stop the project.

The community's resilience and determination is proceeding with vigour. This year, a team of women activists turned their story into a documentary - the VCDs are now used to circumvent the media blackout and to raise awareness.

It seems clear the government is not going to back off the project. What will it take to unzip its lips?

Between a rock and a hard place

In September 2004, the Burmese Rohingya refugee community in Malaysia was relieved to hear that they would be issued identification cards so that they could avoid deportation until democracy is restored in Burma.

However, that promise remains unkept and the Rohingya have been periodically caught in routine enforcement operations against undocumented migrants.

In April, Home Minister Azmi Khalid lit another candle of hope when he said the Rohingya would be absorbed into the local workforce.

Eight months on, their situation has yet to improve. For this beleaguered community, the question has to be: why would we believe anything else we're told?

Scandal in the family

A United Nations inquiry in its final report released on Oct 27 cleared Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of involvement in an illicit oil-for-food deal with deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. It, however, implicated his late wife Endon Mahmood's sister and her business partner.

They was alleged to have paid US$10 million (RM38 million) 'bribe' to Saddam's regime for the single largest oil allocation under the programme. The transaction was traced to a Malaysian trading company, Mastek.

The duo were identified as Noorasiah Mahmood and Faek Ahmad Shareef, an Iraqi immigrant who was once married to another of Endon's sisters.

Noorasiah refused to comment on the allegation, Faek told the New Straits Times that trading of the oil allocation was "just a business" and that it had been conducted "under UN supervision... to help Iraqis when millions of people were dying because of the sanctions".

This came hot in the heels of another scandal involving Abdullah's son Kamaluddin , whose company Scomi was implicated in the black market for nuclear parts last year.

The government has yet to make any comment on the matter despite the premier's pledge to eradicate corruption in all things Malaysian.

Tales from the 'grave'

Dead men tell no tales? Not if they go by the name of Michael Soosai, who is on the police 'wanted' list in relation to a charge of faking his death to escape a murder rap.

A website entitled 'Michael Soosai, a soul resting in peace' made tantalising allegations about the fugitive's ability to 'buy' influence in the police force. This included scanned copies of police documents.

In June, malaysiakini was able to establish that Soosai was alive and that he had probably created the websites.

The police were left red-faced and lost for answers. They promised a speedy probe and said efforts were being made to extradite Soosai from India where he is understood to be hiding.

If they have made any progress, they are not telling. The status of the police personnel implicated by the 'Soosai websites' is also unknown.

Tomorrow: Newsmaker of the Year

Yesterday: Top 10 news of 2005

Article prepared by the malaysiakini team.