During New Year it is sometimes normal for people to sit and reminisce on the good and the bad of the year gone by. I say to heck with that! It is not the time to reminisce but the time to look forward. 2007 is over and done with. It is officially the year 2008, the year of the rat and looking ahead there is so much we Malaysians can look forward to.

The impending dark cloud of elections is almost upon us. All that is left is for the government to announce the specific dates. When they plan to do so is beyond anybodies guess as the elections have been “next month” since November last year. Malaysians can also look forward to following the Linggam controversy and seeing whether the Royal Commission of Inquiry is going to do anything about it or just let the issue die away. Sadly this is sometimes the Malaysian way of handling these sorts of situations.

Malaysians this year have taken great steps in the parenting department. We have suddenly (finally) realized that we cannot let our children wander of on their own and that we need to have them watched at all times. This is largely due to the shocking kidnapping and death of Nurin Jazlin last year and also the kidnapping of five year old Sharline. Very optimistic Malaysians will be hoping the Altantuya case will be wrapped up this year but please don’t hold your breathe.

We also have events we can be proud of. Malaysia launched its very first sedan, the Saga. Why we couldn’t come up with a different name is beyond many people’s imagination. The KL World 5’s, a futsal international tournament, is being held in our very own backyard. Look forward to see talent from countries like Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England fight it out with Asian teams like China, Thailand, Indonesia and off course Malaysia.

Speaking of firsts, Hindu’s celebrated the occasion of Thaipussam being declared as a public holiday. Is it another step in national unity or a political ploy to gain support for the upcoming elections?

It is a big year for politics in many other countries as well. The United States of America’s presidential elections heats up as the country decides which republican or which democrat it wants to run as a candidate for the presidency. Interestingly enough, the world will see whether American democrat voters will pick an African American candidate or a women candidate.

Cuba also has its presidential elections and the fact that it is the first time in five decades Fidel Castro is not being the definite choice will certainly get the Western world’s attention. Pakistan also faces elections but with a more somber mood and especially fear after the nation lost a great leader in former president Benazir Bhutto.

Music and movie fans will fret about whether the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) will picket at the upcoming Grammy and Oscar award shows. Their picketing and boycotting by several infamous movie stars had the Golden Globe Award show reduced to a mere press conference announcement of the results.

It is a great year for sports internationally as well. Soccer fans have the Euro 2008 and the African Nations Cup. Formula 1 car racing fans are anticipating the first ever night race in Singapore. The Beijing Olympics will put China in the spotlight and overall sports fans will be tuning in for that.

All in all 2008 is gearing up to be an interesting year. Here’s to hoping it brings us all more ups then downs. Happy New Year everybody!