You have to say this much about the major news events of the year - at least some of these were different.
Who would have expected to see royals feature so prominently in the headlines? Or a Tun charged with cheating the very cabinet of which he was a member?
Perkasa, politicians and the police also provoked their share of public comment, and we suspect that we have not heard the last of them. Roll on, 2011, as we take a last look at 2010.
Royal rumble in the news jungle
Royals in some states created a ‘majestic' quagmire from which they had quite a job extricating themselves. Muddy boots and fingers aside, they proved quite a media spectacle for the gawking masses who are accustomed to seeing them in venerable light.
The dramatic Kelantan succession shuffle saw unprecedented sibling rivalry as two brothers attempted to muscle their way to the throne, even seeking recourse via the police and the courts. The sultan, incapacitated because of a stroke, was replaced by his elder son.
Next, the incumbent royal family in Perak was put to another test of succession, this time on the eligibility of its right to rule. Questions were raised about the way that an amendment to the state constitution was rushed through the legislative assembly.
In Selangor, there was the questionable award of the now-abandoned Shah Alam Hospital project to members of the royal family. This was fraught with tales of financial mismanagement and rent-seeking of the 'Ali Baba' variety.
Over the year, too, some royals have not been loathe to express their opinions on issues ranging from seeking a return of their immunity to constitutional issues that relate to their position as Malay rulers.
WHAT'S NEXT: The times they are a-changing , as Dylan sings... and the royal-watching now takes on a whole new - and more serious - meaning.
Betting on a comeback
When word got out that the government had quietly issued a sports betting licence to Berjaya Group's Vincent Tan through its subsidiary firm Ascot Sports in May, a whirlwind of protest swept through the nation.
The Pakatan Rakyat-led states pledged to bring in a ban , and the federal government sood found itself under pressure from both PAS and Umno to revoke the permit.
Tycoon Tan tried a trade-off, announcing that he would donate RM525 million to charity once he sells his stake in Ascot Sports to Berjaya Corp. It did not allay the vocal objections.
Najib finally - and strangely - announced that the government had rejected the legalisation of sports betting, just over a month after the news broke.
But his decision to do so after an Umno supreme council meeting instead of after a cabinet discussion has reverberated to this day with allies in the BN stable, namely MCA and Gerakan.
WHAT'S NEXT: Given a government desperate for revenue in any form, who'd bet against this scheme being brought in by the back door? There's far too much money at stake to wave bye-bye to the promised riches.
Sand in Selangor's rice-bowl
Pakatan found the going far harder during its second year in charge of Selangor as BN and Umno ramped up pressure on the state government's handling of key issues.
The multi-million ringgit sand industry was in the spotlight over illegal extraction of sand and the subsequent loss of revenue to the state.
The state attempted to consolidate management of the industry through Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, but the company fell far short of its financial target. For all that, it was 'caught out' for paying a fat bonus to staff.
The drawn-out battle between the federal and state authorities over water supply dragged on for another year, as Selangor insisted that water should be accessible to consumers at the lowest cost.
The issue was taken to the streets by 7,000 representatives of the state, NGOs and the public, who mounted a rally to hand over a petition to the Agong. The federal government has since climbed down, allowing the state to proceed with restructuring the industry.
But Selangor's much-vaunted policy against corruption was besmirched in the matter of 'support letters' which landed DAP's Tee Boon Hock and his boss Ronnie Liu in the soup.
Tee was found to have abused his position by using Liu's letterhead and seal to obtain contracts up to RM1 million. He was booted out of DAP and sacked as Klang municipal councillor.
Despite calls to ban the issuance of support letters, the state government has maintained that this is a necessary evil. It issued a circular to local agencies, however, not to entertain such recommendations when awarding contracts.
WHAT'S NEXT: There'll be no let-up, as BN is bent on taking back the wealthiest state in the peninsula.
Caught - or not - in the act
High-profile politicians or individuals were charged with various offences, but a fair number of acquittals caused red faces in the Attorney-General's Chambers and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik was the first ‘Tun' to be charged in court. He faces a charge of misleading the cabinet over land purchase for the Port Klang Free Trade Zone. Four senior individuals including former general manager OC Phang have been charged as well.
Former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was charged with graft in relation to the acquisition of land for his mansion in Shah Alam.
Among those set free by the courts were commercial crime director Ramli Yusof, the third most senior police officer in the force. Former Umno Youth Federal Territories leader Norza Zakaria was acquitted of money politics by the Temerloh Sessions Court.
Former director-general of immigration Wahid Md Dom was freed of a corruption charge, although deputy director-general Yusof Abu Bakar was found guilty and was slapped with a sentence of 56 years in jail . But given that the sentence is to run concurrently for the 14 charges, he will serve six years in total.
Meanwhile, former Tourism Ministry director-general Mirza Mohammad Taiyab had mixed fortunes - he was acquitted of a corruption charge last year, only to face new ones concerning the activities of Pempena, a problem-plagued subsidiary of the ministry.
WHAT'S NEXT: Will Mohd Khir and Ling be found guilty? Many are of the opinion that these are just show-trials ahead of a general election.
False dawn for BN?
BN found much to smile about, having won three of the four by-elections held during the year - in Hulu Selangor, Galas and Batu Sapi. It only lost the Sibu parliamentary seat.
MIC and MCA both strengthened their leadership. Dr Chua Soi Lek made his comeback as MCA president, while long-time MIC head S Samy Vellu stepped down earlier than expected.
Important constitutional amendments were made to enlarge the BN. It now allows individuals to become associate members , while NGOs may be absorbed as affiliate members.
BN chief Najib Abdul Razak sounded the charge for change before the next general election. The ruling coalition, he said, must do away with delusion, amnesia, inertia and arrogance to regain public support.
Even former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad sounded optimistic when he predicted that the coalition may do better than in the 2008 outing when the coalition lost five states to Pakatan Rakyat, on top of failing to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
But Najib will need a swing among still-sceptical Chinese voters if he is to come out victorious and bolster his position in Umno.
WHAT'S NEXT: BN still needs to come to terms with resistance from within and to win over sceptics. Whatever it chooses to believe, it has only managed to paper over the cracks thus far.
PKR polls: Bold experiment or big debacle?
When PKR passed a resolution last year to implement direct elections, no one could have foreseen the impact it would have on the party.
It was the first to give each member a vote in electing the top echelon of the leadership. But the idealistic notion turned out to be a double-edged sword.
A mad scramble for the deputy presidency ensued when maverick politician Zaid Ibrahim - who joined PKR for no more than one year - threatened the traditional ascension into power by declaring his candidacy .
What was supposed to be a ‘festival of democracy' quickly became a mudslinging exercise , with Zaid's call to de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and his right-hand man Azmin Ali to step down.
Allegations of electoral fraud, malpractice and even vote-rigging dogged the polls process, leading to much frustration among staunch supporters who had hoped the party would set a benchmark in local politics.
Amidst the uproar, Azmin and his team were crowned as the big winners, but not before Zaid's abrupt departure from both the contest and the party hierarchy.
WHAT'S NEXT: The months of endless bad publicity the party has endured could hinder its chances in the next general election. PKR has come to be described as the weakest link in Pakatan, and it has precious little time to sort itself out.
Under-flavoured alphabet soup
Prime Minister Najib Razak launched a series of economic reforms that are bubbling in a cauldron of alphabet soup.
There is the NEM (New Economic Model), ETP (Economic Transformation Plan) and NKEA (National Key Economic Areas) - all meant to pull the country out of its ‘middle income' rut onto the rung of high-income, developed status by 2020,
However, some contents of the cauldron were quickly moved to the back-burner when Malay rights pressure group Perkasa and even Umno members showed they are averse to the phasing out of the race-based affirmative action policy.
The government retreated, as proved evident in the concluding report - released in December and which retained the 30 percent bumiputera equity quota as a policy tool.
Others got hot under the collar over a mega-project under the ETP - Permodalan Nasional Bhd's 100-storey ‘Warisan Merdeka' tower saw opposition from 270,000 members of a Facebook group as well as 'cake party' protest against the waste of resources.
Attention was also focused on the RM26 billion Kuala Lumpur International Financial District project, initially said to be located at the site of the Sungai Besi airport. One claim linked billionaire Jho Low with the project, but he has denied it.
WHAT'S NEXT: It remains to seen if the soup will serve as sufficient comfort food for the anticipated snap polls next year.
A bridge too far?
Sporadic but heated debate cropped up as religious bodies took on public opinion - and each other - in an emotional stand-off sparked by non-Muslim use of the word 'Allah'.
Sentiments ran high after a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision allowed Catholic publication Herald to use 'Allah' in its Malay section.
Muslims argued that the name is exclusively for their use while non-Muslims, particularly the Christians and Sikhs, countered that they have as much right to use the word.
While most limited their objections by holding peaceful protests, some took out their frustrations on several churches. The worst damage was to the Metro Tabernacle Church which had its ground floor gutted by a firebomb . This lead to a spate of copycat and reprisal attacks on churches, mosques, suraus and a Sikh temple.
The broader effect was that it intensified the glare on religion-based issues, such as Shamala Sathiyaseelan's custody battle and Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching's visit to a surau , where she gave a speech.
An interfaith committee was set up to bridge the divide, but it has made little headway after just one meeting in April.
WHAT'S NEXT: For as long as religion is muddied by politics, Malaysians can only muddle along, hoping for good sense to prevail.
Police paranoia over parangs
The police force again came under heavy fire, following several incidents in which civilians fell in a hail of bullets. The youngest victim to date was Aminulrasyid Amzah, gunned down in April, months short of his 15th birthday.
The teen's death split opinions, with some believing that the men in blue were justified in opening fire on the boy who was driving illegally in the small hours of the night.
But police conduct has come under question as testimony in court has already given the lie to the claim that the police personnel shot in self-defence as Aminulrasyid 'tried to reverse' his borrowed car onto them.
It was also claimed that a ‘parang' (machete) was found in the car, but the teenager's family has denied any knowledge of its existence.
Sustained public pressure led to the setting up of a special Home Ministry committee to review the Inspector-General's Standing Orders (IGSO), which detailed guidelines for the use of firearms. However, the once-regular updates from the committee are now few and far between.
While silence presides over the IGSO review, survivors of several subsequent shootings live to vouch innocence and seek compensation.
Other deaths have occurred - three youths were suspiciously shot in the head by police in Shah Alam, branded as ‘parang-wielding criminals'.
The police have often attributed their shoot-to-kill decisions to the claim that suspects had charged at them with ‘parangs' and screwdrivers.
Meanwhile, those who dare speak out about custodial deaths risk retribution. K Selvach Santhiran was violently arrested under the Dangerous Drugs Act hours after the verdict in an inquest during which he testified to having seen a police officer kick the deceased, R Gunasegaran.
WHAT'S NEXT: Still holding your breath? Don't! The IGSO review will go the same way as the proposal to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.
The 'monster' that is Perkasa
Umno and BN tried hard to be relevant again, promoting the all-encompassing, all-inclusive '1Malaysia' catchphrase but the wholesome goodness of the concept did not seem to sit well with the grassroots.
Pro-Malay rights group Perkasa continued to grow in prominence, consistently stirring debate with shrill demands for 'Ketuanan Melayu' (Malay supremacy).
Popular belief suggests that Umno can no longer afford to harp on Malay rights without losing non-Malay votes. Thus the job of securing Malay interests was outsourced to Perkasa, headed by Independent MP Ibrahim Ali.
As this did not resonate with the oft-repeated 1Malaysia chants, Umno has had to deny having a hand in Perkasa - it even blamed the media for unleashing the monster .
Formed in 2009, Perkasa receives comfortable support from former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin and federal minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz have not been able to curb Perkasa's growing influence in the mainstream of politics.
Perkasa has strained Umno's relationship with its BN partners, in particular MCA head Dr Chua Soi Lek and Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon over issues relating to the special privileges of the Malays.
WHAT'S NEXT: Abetted by Umno, an unchallenged Perkasa will crow louder and orchestrate more protests against Pakatan, with a view to winning over Malay-majority constituencies.
News that didn't make it to the list
And the Newsmaker of 2010 is...
