News that turned heads in 2014

On Jan 27, PKR representative Lee Chin Cheh resigned as Kajang assemblyman, with plans for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take over via a forced by-election. However, the plan, dubbed the "Kajang move" failed when the court found Anwar guilty of sodomy, prompting his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be nominated as the by-election candidate instead. Wan Azizah won the by-election on March 23, securing 16,741 votes while Barisan Nasional's Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun garnered 11,362 votes.

On July 21, PKR named Wan Azizah to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as the new Selangor Menteri Besar but this did not go down well with the latter. Abdul Khalid said until the transition process is done according to state laws, he will continue to be the MB.

Things became more dramatic when PAS threw in their support for Abdul Khalid while the DAP backed Wan Azizah. After disclosing a 40-page dossier on Abdul Khalid’s alleged misconduct, among others, on the sale of state land to Eco World for an affordable homes project in Sungai Sering, Ukay Perdana, PKR's disciplinary board sent a show cause letter to Abdul Khalid on his reluctance to let go of the MB post. PKR sacked Abdul Khalid from the party on Aug 9. In return, the MB sacked five PKR and DAP state exco.

Wan Azizah later said she has the support of 30 Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen to take over Selangor.

However, Abdul Khalid insisted that if she wanted the post, she has to go through the proper process in the 56-seat Selangor State Legislative Assembly. On Aug 26, Abdul Khalid tendered his resignation as MB to the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, but the latter postponed accepting the resignation, saying a suitable replacement needs to be identified first.

The Sultan then ordered PKR, DAP and PAS to propose two names from each party as candidates for the MB post. On Sept 22, Abdul Khalid chaired the State Exco meeting for the last time as Menteri Besar. The next day, PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali was sworn in as the new MB.

It all began when a video depicting a woman brandishing a steering lock and hitting an old man's car after he accidentally grazed her new Peugeot 208, was circulated online. Siti Fairrah Ashykin Kamaruddin, more popularly known as Kiki, gained overnight 'stardom' for her act on July 14, against retired government servant Sim Siak Hong, fondly known as Uncle Sim. The public labelled her rage towards the elderly as disrespectful and urged for action against the young wedding planner. Kiki was later detained by the police for mischief and criminal intimidation. On July 23, Kiki was fined RM5,000 and ordered to do community service for 240 hours after she pleaded guilty to the charge under the Penal Code. The woman reportedly joined Malay rights group Perkasa, allegedly after Selangor Perkasa launched a fund to help 'lighten Kiki's financial burden" to pay her fine.

3. 'Halal' Cadbury

On May 23, the Health Ministry stated that non-halal elements were found in two varieties of Cadbury chocolates -- the Hazel Nut and Roast Almond. They claimed that the chocolate had tested positive for porcine (pig) DNA, prompting the company to recall some of the products from stores. An outcry from spme parts of the Muslim community was made, with some demanding Cabdury Malaysia to pay for their "blood cleansing" procedure. However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic sffairs, Datuk Seri Dr Jamil Khir Baharom assured the chocolates were indeed halal. He said tests had been carried out by a chemistry laboratory accredited under the Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim). Despite that, some Muslims continue to boycott the product, prompting Jakim to reaffirm the products' halal status.

The world of Malaysian sports received a shocking blow when national shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei was claimed to have tested positive for 'dexamethasone' during an anti-doping test at the Badminton World Championships 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark on Aug 30. While traces of the steroid-type drug were reportedly found in his urine (Sample A), Lee had requested Sample B to be tested. The nation was devastated when the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed Sample B was also tested positive for the banned substance. Lee was subsequently suspended. BAM pledged to support Lee in all aspects, including hiring top sports lawyer Mike Morgan to mitigate the badminton champion's hearing at the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Lee’s hearing was initially scheduled for Dec 8 but was postponed following the BAM's request for Morgan to be given more time to prepare his case. The new hearing date will be known in 2015.

Described as possibly the greatest modern day aviation mystery, Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 departed from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing, China on March 8, but it never landed or was ever seen again. Nations across the world came together to launch a massive search operation -- from the South China Sea to the southern Indian Ocean, where it was believed to have crashed. Too many conspiracy theories have emerged from this mystery -- from technical failures to terrorist highjacking -- but one thing's for sure, the world mourns while prayers continue to pour for the victims' families to have some form of closure.

Following the disappearance of Flight MH370, some weird personalities have appeared out of the blue. One such person is 'Bomoh' Ibrahim Mat Zin, also known as 'Raja Bomoh Sedunia Nujum VIP'. Ibrahim was so positive he could locate the missing plane and had publicly used his own 'methods' to do so. At a showing in KLIA, Ibrahim had used bamboo 'binoculars' and a fish trap hook to locate MH370, much to the amuse of many. A 'magic carpet', some coconuts, a 'magical' walking stick and Zamzam water were also used. Naturally, his gimmick garnered a lot of bad press with some calling for his arrest even. Nevertheless, BBC reported that the word "bomoh" was trending worldwide at one point and was tweeted more than 200,000 times.

Still reeling from the shock of MH370, Malaysians and the world were once again startled on July 17 when MAS Flight MH17 was reported to have been shot down and crashed in a tense-area of Ukraine near the Russian border. The flight from Amsterdam was scheduled to arrive at KLIA at 6.10am the next day. MAS claimed that the route was declared safe by international aviation bodies and its aircraft had a clean maintenance record. On board the plane were Dutch nationals (193 people including one with dual United States citizenship), Malaysia (43 people including 15 crew members), Australia (27), Indonesia (12), United Kingdom (10 including one with dual South Africa citizenship), Belgium (4), Germany (4), Philippines (3), Canada (1) and New Zealand (1).

While fingers were quickly pointed to Russia and its president Vladimir Putin as the one responsible for the shooting down of the plane, Malaysia restrained from playing the blame game. Five days later, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak achieved a breakthrough with pro-Russian separatists' leader Alexander Borodai who agreed to release the victims' remains and plane wreckage to Malaysia. The aircraft's black boxes was returned to Malaysia and international investigators were given access to the crash site. The black boxes were handed over to Malaysian authorities in Donetsk, Ukraine on July 22. A National Mourning Day was declared in Malaysia on Aug 22, the day the first batch of 20 Malaysian victims' remains arrived home and accorded full military honours.

The Sedition Act has been a long-time controversy in Malaysia, due to its restrictive nature with many human rights advocators calling for the legislation to be abolished. Those who think otherwise believed the Act is necessary to maintain peace in this multi-racial country. In a bid to reform legislation to increase civil liberties, PM Najib had first announced in June 2012 his plan to abolish the 66-year-old Act and replace it with a National Harmony Act. He reiterated the same promise in September this year. The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) was tasked to draft the new legislation. Ironically, this year saw at least 20 people being either investigated or charged under the Sedition Act, including popular University of Malaya law professor Azmi Sharom and Malaysiakini journalist Susan Loone. On Sept 16, close to 1,000 lawyers, led by Bar Council president Christopher Leong, marched to the Parliament building and demanded the law be repealed. Despite the move, Najib shocked many when he declared at the UMNO general assembly on Nov 27, that the Sedition Act will not only be retained but strengthened to protect the sanctity of Islam and other religions.

9. AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501

Just as everyone was coming to terms with the many dramatic events of 2014, and thinking that another Malaysian-owned airplane went missing on Dec 28 -- the AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501. The flight departed the Juanda Airport in Surabaya at 5.35am enroute to Singapore, and followed the usual M635 route at an altitude of 32,000 feet. However, it later dropped off the radar and goes missing. AirAsia announced through its Twitter and Facebook that the flight lost contact with the Jakarta air control tower at 07.24 (Indonesian time). The Airbus A320-200 aircraft with registration number PK-AXC, carried 155 passengers and seven crew members, including two pilots. They were Indonesian Captain Irianto and French first officer Remi Emmanuel Plesel. Three days into the search, the search and rescue (SAR) team found the plane's debris in the Java Sea also recovered three bodies which were found floating. Cause of the crash has yet to be known, investigations are stiil ongoing and search efforts for the plane wreckage and victims' bodies continue.

10. Worst flood in decades

Since earlier this month, Malaysia had been hit with one of the worst floods in 30 years after heavy rain continues to pour. Over 100,000 people have been evacuated from numerous states including Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and Kedah. But the worst flood-hit state was Kelantan, which has a death toll of 14 people. Currenly, flood relief efforts are being conducted all over the country to help channel donations to the affected areas in the form of food and other necessities to ease the victims' burdens.