COMMENT | Exhilarated with a Chinese New Year card which I received from an 18-year-old teenager, I shared his message with friends who had helped with his case.

The boy wrote: “Dear Uncle Stephen, Thanks for your help! You are mega (very) kind. Happy Chinese New Year!"

Credit where credit is due. Thanks to Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, this boy managed to return home just in time to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his family after a short stint away from home.

As things looked bleak, a light shone through the dark clouds. When I shared the message with my friends, I said that when there is darkness all over, the eagle will always soar above the thunderstorm, which brought to mind PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, who was recently sentenced to 30 months’ jail.

“Be that eagle,” I said.

Several people responded to my short words of exhortation. Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute director Ramon Navaratnam said, “Too many are sparrows – sadly!”

The conversation went on. As most conversations do these days, the topic switched to the forthcoming general election. Navaratnam expressed his concerns over some four million young people who have not registered to vote.

He said that with the #UndiRosak campaign, Malaysia will deserve the kind of government it gets...