Last year's keyword in unresolved cases was ' missing '. This year, it is 'silence' - over methodology, mind-games, migrants, mergers and mega-projects.

Elegant or otherwise, the silence only amplifies the echo of unanswered questions as we highlight the 'Y' factor in malaysiakini 's X-files series.

1. NEP's never ending problem

The controversy over the methodology in calculating wealth held by different ethnic groups was sparked by a report by Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute showing that the 30 percent bumiputera target of the New Economic Policy (NEP) had been exceeded.

An earlier study done by a Universiti Malaya researcher provided similar findings, but the government begged to differ, standing by its 2005 figure of 18.9 percent for bumiputera equity ownership.

The disclosures triggered widespread comment, pressuring the government - for the first time - to reveal its highly secret methodology in Parliament and in a statement by minister Mohd Effendi Norwawi.

To further fend off criticism, the government claimed its methodology has been endorsed by international bodies such as World Bank, which subsequently denied the claim.

The stand-off could be resolved if an independent panel of experts reviews the methodology and provides the answers. The government, typically, has sought refuge in silence.

2. Will there be justice?

Eighteen years after the dust had apparently settled over the 1988 judicial crisis, the Bar Council stirred it up again with a call to review the situation in the interests of natural justice.

Soon after, sacked former Lord President Salleh Abas broke his silence and backed the review, a wish that found strong support from the widow of another sacked judge, politicians and lawyers.

Despite this, emergency motions in Parliament were shot down and a proposal for a truth commission or an inquiry was rejected for reasons best known to the government.

De facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz held the view that there could only be a review if judges from the tribunal that declared the three Supreme Court judges guilty admit that there was foul play.

The Bar Council plans to pursue this, but how far can it go when the government is not prepared to revisit the issue?

3. Letting sleeping proposals lie

The Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) was to be " set up soon " when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gave the nod to form the powerful watchdog in January.

It appears the proposal is still being studied by the Attorney-General's Chambers, despite the deadline of May 31 set by the recommendation body, the Royal Commission on the Police Force.

Strong objections were initially expressed by the police force and some Umno politicians, who argued that the existing internal mechanism was sufficient.

The police force, in a special bulletin to oppose the formation of the IPCMC, even threatened in May to vote for the opposition in the next general election and to let crime cases pile up if the watchdog is established.

The bulletin has since been withdrawn, while the police top brass have pledged loyalty to the government.

It's a heart-warming thought but the question remains: when will the IPCMC be set up?

4. Has anyone seen PAS?

While other opposition parties are busy gearing up to face the next general election, which they predict will be held next year, PAS appears to be doing nothing. It is almost as if PAS has been bypassed by its peers such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP.

PKR, with Anwar Ibrahim as advisor, and DAP driven by Lim Kit Siang and son Guan Eng, have already stated their plans to capture Penang.

However, PAS appears to be comfortable with the situation in Kelantan, which it is ruling with a single-seat majority. It is also keeping an eye on Terengganu which it lost to Barisan Nasional in the 2004 polls.

What has happened to PAS ceramah (political talks) which had so much impact in the past, being helmed by the likes of Mohamad Sabu and Dr Hassan Ali?

Party president and former Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang seems to have lost his fangs. Are there no programmes to recapture Terengganu?

The Islamic-based opposition party is also not taking up religion-based issues such as apostasy and the position of Islam in the Federal Constitution. These issues are being championed by non-governmental organisations.

Muslims are wondering why PAS seems content with playing a secondary role. Has the party lost its voice? Will its leaders be able to prove its detractors wrong?

5. Concealed identities under 'Project M'

Shockwaves were felt when it was alleged that the government had been issuing identity cards to illegal immigrants in Sabah under 'Project M' named for the purported benefactor, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

A former senator alleged that it had been initiated during the Mahathir's tenure to grant citizenship to illegals mainly from southern Philippines.

It is estimated that there are 1.75 million foreigners in Sabah, of whom about 750,000 are said to be illegals. Locals worry that the number of foreigners could outnumber them at some point, while adding to social and economic problems.

A senior politician dropped another bombshell when he claimed that 'Project M' beneficiaries have also been listed in the electoral roll .

The police have reportedly begun investigations, but the government has kept curiously quiet about the allegations. Why?

6. Gen Next mega-projects

Going by official pronouncements, the era of the mega-projects ended circa November 2003, when premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised news ways of doing business.

Closing the Umno general assembly on Nov 20 this year, he affirmed: "In the past, wealth was generated not by innovation and creativity, but by foreign investment, government contracts and privatisation. Now that era is gone."

Let's match his words to deeds to date:

  • RM600 million ' bonus ' for Class F contractors;

  • RM400 million for the new National Palace;

  • RM220 million for the Agricultural Expo project;

  • RM2.8 billion for the second Penang bridge;

  • RM50 million to overhaul KTM Bhd;

  • RM120 million for fabrication of bus-parts for Sykt Prasarana Negara Sdn Bhd

  • RM14.5 billion double-tracking railway project

  • RM1.2 billion Penang monorail

    • To reprise questions raised on Nov 21 by Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang over the new palace: "Why was (this) given to Maya Maju Sdn Bhd? Who are they? Are they a crony company? Why wasn't there an open tender? Why wasn't there a contract? Why do we need this new palace?"

    We could ask the same of projects awarded or likely to be awarded to the UEM group (double-tracking, second Penang bridge); Scomi Group Bhd (bids for Penang monorail, bus-parts fabrication and KTM overhaul) and other companies involved - if we know who they are.

    Meanwhile, the prestigious Iskandar Development Region covering 2,216 sq km in Johor is to encompass an area about twice the size of Singapore and 48 times that of Putrajaya. The Employees Provident Fund will invest RM3.4 billion in strategic projects, contributing to the RM47 billion required from 2006-10, and a further RM336 from 2011-25.

    On Dec 20, Utusan Malaysia quoted government officials as saying that the cabinet had approved a 246km express rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan, where a new train station will also be built. The federal government will bear the cost (not revealed) of the project between 2012 and 2015, delivered under the National Infrastructure Plan approved in October.

    No more mega-projects?

    7. Political posturings in Sarawak

    The Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) hogged the limelight for much of the year, for all the wrong reasons. In the state elections in May, the party suffered its worst electoral defeat in its 47-year history when it lost eight of the 19 seats it contested.

    More humiliating was that it lost in urban centres where the electorate comprises affluent Chinese - the group Supp had claimed to represent since Independence. The party also lost the coveted Kuching mayor's post, which its nominee has traditionally held.

    Both outcomes set the stage for a leadership tussle - also the first in the party's history. Word went out that president Dr George Chan must go immediately, but he managed to strike a compromise by agreeing to a graceful exit in 2008. Whether or not he has a smooth ride until then is anybody's guess.

    Internal problems in Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) also took a turn for the worse after the state elections. Dr James Masing was censured as party president by a rival group . Talk is that PRS could suffer the same fate as its predecessor Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak which was deregistered last year.

    Sarawak, without twists and turns in its politics, would not be recognisable. Who will be the next to fall?

    8. Burning question over Broga incinerator

    Four years after the much-loathed incinerator project was relocated to Broga in November 2002, the door remains tightly shut on all sources of information.

    In August 2006, malaysiakini reported that the RM1.5 billion project would be scrapped, but residents have only been told that the decision has gone in their favour. They will have to wait for the official announcement.

    Japanese contractor Ebara Corp was not as reticent - it has given up on the deal, but will also have to wait for confirmation from the Malaysian government.

    Could this be a sneaky exit by the back door for the government, given the massive loss of face over a project that no one wanted?

    9. False starts in party mergers

    Talk of political party mergers swirled around the People's Progressive Party (PPP) and Gerakan; Indian Progressive Front (IPF) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC); and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) .

    With IPF president MG Pandithan seriously ill with blood leukemia, some were moved to believe his party would blend into Barisan Nasional component party MIC. After all, IPF was formed in the wake of the fallout between the heads of the two Indian-based parties.

    There was further speculation that IPF-MIC would link up with PPP, but its head M Kayveas scotched the rumours at his party's meeting in November.

    Instead, he proposed a PPP merger with Gerakan, led by Dr Lim Keng Yaik who was left speechless - but only for a while. When he recovered his wits and voice to object, though, Kayveas told him to shut up and leave the decision to those who will lead Gerakan after 2008 - when Lim will step down.

    In Sarawak, James Masing's PRS and William Mawan's SPDP began deliberations on a merger , but this has been stymied by the leadership tussle in PRS. SPDP has since pulled out of the dialogue until PRS settles its problems.

    Will these parties get on board the 'merger bandwagon' which is already rolling through the corporate world?

    10. Big Foot, you'll never walk alone

    This time last year, Malaysia embarked on yet another officially-sanctioned attempt to be the first at doing something eccentric. Unlike rolling the longest dodol (durian jelly) or 'pulling' the first teh tarik in space (since abandoned), this move actually caused a media flurry.

    The Johor government in December 2005 announced it was commissioning a team of experts to determine whether a 10-foot hairy creature known in local lore as Hantu Jarang Gigi (the ghost with widely-spaced teeth) exists in the state's Endau-Rompin National Park.

    "I regard this as a unique feature of Johor's treasures and we must take steps to safeguard it," said Malaysian Nature Society advisor Vincent Chow.

    "We are going to check first if the case is a true one," said Siti Hawa Yatim of the Wildlife Department's Biodiversity Conservation Division.

    As with most things Malaysian, attention waned after the middle of this year, to the extent that even portraying the hantu as having been forced to migrate on account of the Communist insurgency did not succeed in eliciting sympathy, let alone reviving interest.

    In mid-December, Natural Resources and Environment Ministry parliamentary secretary Sazmi Meah said investigations had concluded that it was just a hoax perpetrated to generate interest among foreign scientists.

    The Johor government has not been dissuaded. No one, not even Sazmi, will be allowed to dismiss the existence of Malaysia's Big Foot, said a state exco member.

    "We are very keen to pursue this and welcome researchers and scientists to contact us on their investigations...," said Freddi Long, the state tourism and environment committee chairperson.

    With someone finally prepared to go the distance to resolve an issue, will results arrive in time for Visit Malaysia Year 2007?

    Saturday: Newsmaker of the Year

    Tuesday: Top 10 news of 2006

    Article prepared by the malaysiakini team .