2008 was like a stray dog that wagged its tail away, leaving behind it a good deal of unresolved problems and sorrows.

On the international front, 2008 has been a year of natural and human-induced disasters that inflicted heinous torments upon the earthlings.

The massive earthquake in China, the cyclone in Myanmar, the political turmoil in Thailand, the terror attacks on Pakistan, and shortly before we kissed the year away, the heightened tension between Israel and Palestine.

All of a sudden, the Earth was stained with blood and there was weeping and languishing everywhere.

On the financial front, the global economy took a drastic turn beginning with the once mighty America, spreading progressively to the time-honoured European continent, and then creeping over to emerging Asia.

Stock markets worldwide have seen big chunks of their capitalisations eroded away, as "financial crisis" became the most heated byword across the globe.

The domino effect spared no one, forcing people to forget the good times we savoured during the first half of the year, remembering only the desolation that dominated the second half of it.

The unrests that took place elsewhere in the world provided the Malaysian government and its people a shortlived panic, or reassurance, or uneasiness; then it was the gratification that we had been spared from the drastic disasters, violent outbursts; and then it was life-as-usual again for everyone.

Even as the gust of "financial crisis" had sent the whole world trembling with fear, some of our leaders appeared least perturbed, and this kept many of us in the dark of the actual economic conditions in the country.

But when we took delight in the assumption that we were the fortunate lot blessed by the Almighty and could go on living our care-free days, the solidly grounded bungalows were jolted off their foundations under the massive weight of mudslides, while riverside houses collapsed due to landslides. The sudden downpours sent many stranded by flood waters.

When we thought we could lead our lives hassle-free, we were instantly beaten up, robbed and our belongings snatched the moment we stepped out of our houses. Even an innocent 8-year-old girl could get raped and killed playing outside her house.

Banks, jewellery stores and bungalows fell victim to daylight robberies, and even lower-income citizens living in single-storey terraces were not spared. "Peace" has become a luxurious hope for many instead of a daily commodity.

When we were thinking that the government's emphasis that the state of our economy was only "slight slowdown" instead of "recession" could save us the day, we were shocked to discover that many friends around us had already been retrenched by their companies.

It was also said that in the year to come, several hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs!

At the same time, we found that it was increasingly difficult for us to make ends meet.

But 2008 was not without any positive news.

The March general elections gave the opposition an expected revival, with five states falling into their hands, which offered us hopes for some stimulating and historic changes.

Nevertheless, when we began to see the rudimentary form of bipartisan politics taking shape, we also saw that some of the opposition MPs had very questionable qualities.

We saw that the Selangor and Kedah state governments under Pakatan Rakyat were not much different from their predecessors when it comes to dealing with racial issues, with PAS still holding dearly to its hudud laws, much to the dismay of non-Malays.

When we presumed that Barisan Nasional, having gone through the humiliating election defeat, would turn over a new leaf and improve, inciting remarks were heard from deep within UMNO.

When we were laying our hopes on the new generation MCA successors, we saw that the infighting spirit was blatantly expressed.

Will our leaders promise the Malaysian public better days ahead in 2009? Will our federal and state governments allow us to really lead a "care-free" life?

We are looking forward to it! (By TAN POH KHENG/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)