By ---use-custom-author-field---
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning,” said the poet and writer T.S. Eliot a very long time ago. The words rang true then and they remain true today.
2014 drew to a close amidst grief, despair and tears. The monsoon swept across Malaysia, flooding states, destroying homes and taking lives. AirAsia lost flight QZ8501 between Surabaya and Singapore resulting in the possible loss of 162 lives. Many families mourned and did not celebrate the turning of the year.
Perhaps this is the opportunity we must all grab with both hands. Here is a chance to wipe the slate clean of all hatred and intolerance. A chance to be kinder and more compassionate. A chance to see everyone as a human being and not an alien of another colour, race or religion. It’s these terrible disasters that always seem to bring people together. It’s times like these that cause us to forget, if even for a moment, that we are different.
I hope the kindness, care and compassion carries through for the rest of the year. I hope that we come together as a people and a nation. That we forge a tight bond in order to further ourselves and boost the economy for there is no reason why the development of a nation cannot go hand in hand with the spirit of understanding and respect for each other as well as our individual cultures and religions. We are and have always been a multi-cultural and multi-racial society. I believe that our diversity is our greatest strength as we all bring different talents and abilities to the table.
This week would have been filled with activities to welcome the New Year, getting children ready for school or simply trying to stay safe and keep tabs on those we love. Many of you would have missed the articles we put up and therefore, here is a compilation of the best we had for the week.
Pick 1 — State of the world: In this five-part series, KiniBiz looks at the state of the world through the pens of five global personalities. Christine Lagarde looks at the choices policymakers are faced with as 2014 draws to a close and comes to the conclusion that 2015 promises to be a make-or-break year for the global community. The ECB’s Mario Draghi ponders upon European monetary union, the ties among its members, how much they had collectively invested, and their willingness to come together to solve common problems. The World Bank’s Kaushik Basu feels that despite tremendous progress, a large proportion of people in developing countries remain desperately poor. Joseph E Stiglitz is firm in his opinion that the near-global stagnation witnessed in 2014 is man-made. Finally, India’s central bank governor Raghuram Rajan feels that there is a palpable sense of gloom in the developed world, a feeling that growth is unlikely to take off in the foreseeable future.
Pick 2 — AirAsia flight QZ8501 goes missing: An AirAsia aircraft with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board went missing on Dec 28. Onboard are 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one person each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain, while the co-pilot is French. AirAsia group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes vows his airliner will not shy away from its obligations over the loss of its aircraft. A total of seven bodies – four men, three women – had been recovered on Dec 31. Two more bodies have been found in Pengkalan Bun waters on Jan 1, off Central Kalimantan, taking the total count of those discovered so far to nine
Pick 3 — Let’s not lose another plane again: The AirAsia QZ8501 crash has intensified the ongoing debate about tracking a plane faster after it has crashed.
Ani Arope
Pick 4 — Ani Arope, the man who refused Mahathir: On Dec 20, Ani Arope passed away. He was 83, with a distinguished career in many government organisations including the Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. He had also been chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional as well as group chief of Kumpulan Guthrie. However, it was Ani Arope’s time at TNB that defined his legacy. To the general public he was the man who refused then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s will.
Pick 5 — Gloomy end to 2014: The Malaysian ringgit lead Asia FX losses in 2014. Both the ringgit and regional units are expected to stay under pressure in the new year due to expectations the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates and China’s economy will stay sluggish. Shares on Kuala Lumpur’s stock exchange were trading slightly higher on Dec 31 but heading for losses on the year to become Southeast Asia’s worst performer. Singapore’s key Straits Times Index was the region’s second worst performer in 2014.
Pick 6 — Palm oil woes: Palm oil output in Malaysia will decline in December and January as severe flooding disrupts harvesting in the largest exporter after Indonesia, exacerbating a seasonal drop in production. Output may contract by as much as 20% in December from 1.75 million metric tonnes in November. The floods are negative for Malaysian planters with estates in the worst hit states. The four worst-hit states (Terengganu, Pahang, Kelantan and Perak) accounted for 30% of Malaysia’s palm oil supply in 2013.
Pick 7 — Oil set for major slump: Oil fell in 2014 by the most since the 2008 global financial crisis as US producers and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ceded no ground in their battle for market share amid a supply glut.
If you like these and want more, stay in touch with us on Facebook (click here) and Twitter (click here). We’ll keep you updated on the latest and breaking developments from the business scene.
If you haven’t subscribed, click here to get one for just 82 sen a day. For that much you’ll get more great reads such as these and we’ll get to stay independent, which keeps the good reads flowing for you.
During the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our success possible. It is in this spirit that we say thank you and best wishes for the holidays and New Year.
– by Nesa Sivagnanam, Executive Editor
You must be logged in to post a comment.