COMMENT | 2019 was like mosquitos: Nobody likes them, and nobody has anything good to say about them.

This year, our country has been ridden with a series of political infighting, intellectual dishonesty, and administrative mediocrity. Politicians cared more for themselves than the country.

It mattered not that the cost of living is still high, the number of good jobs is still low, and the economy stays stagnant. Every policy, position, and presentation was based on individual political gain and preservation of ego. For one year, the people have been left out of the equation.

But I have always believed that the people are not powerless. There are enough people in every corner of the country who are still doing important work; who are courageous in the face of challenges; who persevere for the love of the nation.

These are the three stories that made my 2019:

Courage in the civil service

On the eleventh month of 2019, we learned about the story of Nor Salwani Muhammad. In a trial against former prime minister Najib Razak and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda, Nor Salwani said that she had recorded the meeting to alter the 1MDB audit report with a voice recorder...