Is it 2022 already? Where did two years go?

 

Happy New Year everybody! 2019 was such a great year, and I hope 2020 will be just as great too. What? Last year wasn’t 2019? We’ve had 2020 and even 2021 since then? Really?

Nobody told me. I can’t believe we’ve had two full years since then. Where do I complain and how do I get a refund?

Seemed like it was only yesterday that I spent the end of 2019 in Sri Lanka with my family. I was so looking forward to the new year – I was planning a long road trip with some friends that would take three months or maybe even longer.

I was also looking forward to my first full year of retirement, figuring out what to do when I’m at home (though I wasn’t planning to be home much). I was looking forward to spending my retirement savings and hoping I would run out first before the savings did!

And then Covid-19 happened. It started as a distant rumble in far off China, then it got closer and then wham! The world closed down.

Then followed scary days watching the virus explode while also watching my savings evaporate. While smart minds jumped into the economic bloodbath and picked up bargains, I battened down the hatches and held my breath.

I wasn’t worried about the virus itself. I was mostly at home, and home is actually quite pleasant. Credit it to an inspired decision to live in the middle of nowhere where modest sums can buy lots of land and space.

Credit it to stinginess too, and a strong aversion to cities and concrete. The further away I am from the city the better it is. But not so far away that I lose touch completely. I get that with my travels anyway, so I don’t need to be a hermit.

Counting the number of dwellings I’ve ever lived in, I realise there were eight: three when I was a secondary and university student, one while working in Indonesia, two my own homes, and the other two were my parents’.

I have absolutely no idea where that puts me compared to others of my age and demographics. More? Less? You figure it out yourself and go bore your own children with it.

A place to call home

My house has coconut and durian trees and assorted fruit trees. I have harvested thousands of ringgit of fruits over the years. Given that the seedlings and fertilisers were cheap, I have had a great return on my investment.

And yes it’s on a hill and I was spared the floods. I am grateful for that as I am also saddened by the calamity that has affected so many of our fellow Malaysians.

Being stuck in a lockdown when you’re someplace pleasant is not a bad thing. But others aren’t so lucky. For them, 2020 and 2021 have been tough, long and gruelling years, and for many, still with no end in sight.

Not everybody has nice homes in which to be locked down. Or good jobs to pay the bills. Or even any kind of job given how the pandemic has destroyed so many businesses.

But when 2020 drew to a close, there seemed to be hope in the air (yes, we actually did have 2020 apparently). The worst seemed over, and there were vaccines on the way. I felt maybe the postponed road trip of 2020 could finally happen in 2021.

Then 2021 hit (yes, we did have 2021, too), and more lockdowns hit us. But we had vaccines by then that helped to make life a little bit more bearable, though by then lockdown fatigue was also setting in.

Right when we were closing the year, the Great Flood of 2021 hit us with unprecedented ferocity taking lives and destroying property and livelihoods and also the last shred of dignity our political leaders pretend to have.

How did Malaysia fare in 2020 and 2021, the years that felt like they didn’t happen? Man, don’t I wish those years didn’t happen!

While we were busy being distracted by the virus and other natural disasters, it was business as usual for many, especially our national leaders. In 2020 the amount of politicking and incompetence showed in handling the pandemic were truly amazing, a clear case of Malaysia Tak Boleh.

If I remember correctly, we had two prime ministers that year. We started with somebody and at some point, he was kicked out and was replaced by somebody else.

In 2021 we went through the same cycle again, when that prime minister was in turn kicked out and replaced by yet somebody else. Same old faces, same old story. I guess we have to be thankful for the never-ending distractions to the unremitting disasters we face.

But I do feel sorry for the children of the future, who would have to remember so many prime ministers and the political parties and coalitions and coalitions of coalitions. A sample exam question: “Name the three prime ministers of the Sheraton Era”? Koyak.

How very Shakespearean: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. OK, I know it wasn’t Shakespeare (it was Dickens), and it was mostly the worst of times and with lots of foolishness anyway.

True colours of the people

But it was certainly a time when you got to see the true colours of the people.

While the country was in a tizzy, politicians played musical chairs. It turned out saving money was too difficult for them so they turned to spending as much of the rakyat’s money as they could instead, sending the bills to our children and grandchildren.

When people were losing their jobs, and in many instances their lives, they were creating dramas and inventing issues to hide one very important fact – they’ve absolutely no idea what to do.

It would have been funny if it wasn’t so sad to see our jaguh kampungs making fools of themselves. Rather embarrassing to me as a Malaysian and as a kampung boy too.

But many ordinary Malaysians came through. I saw a lot of selfless acts and personally know of many who went above and beyond to help others, often at their own expense and risks and without regards to race or religion.

Just as my regard for politicians has sunk to new lows, my admiration for ordinary Malaysians rises. We have the making of a great country, and all we need are half-decent leaders who won’t steal too much and steer a reasonably straight course and leave us be.

We have many issues that have become worse over the years. Racism, corruption and economic growth have become worse, and would be even harder to tackle. Regional competition has heated up, and the environment is piling ever-growing misery on us.

And those poisonous, deadly cruel creatures are showing no signs of ever going away. They will test our resolve and battle us for our survival, with no guarantee of us winning no matter what we do.

I am talking about the virus of course, not the politicians. But it applies to them too I guess.

Anyway, as we bid Auld Lang Syne to 2021 which, together with 2020 apparently did happen, we welcome 2022, and hope it won’t be déjà vu all over again.

Happy New Year everybody. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.