From the mysterious disappearance of William Yau, the dramatic 13th General Election, the dreadful Lahad Datu incident, the tragic Genting bus accident, the gruesome shooting of an Ambank officer, to the more adorable gestures of 'gwiyomi' and the cute selfies.
Based on the events that happened, 2013 certainly did not fall short of dramas, excitement, tears, anger, amusement, fear and joy.
However, in 2014, several events are expected to make headlines in all sectors; economics, politics, entertainment, trends, lifestyle and sports.
So what should we look out for in 2014?
Higher cost of living
Brace yourselves, as Malaysia is expected to face a challenging year in 2014. Prepare to tighten your belts because in 2014, the cost of living is expected to go a bit on the high side. With the increase of prices in various items such as toll rates, electricity tariff, sugar, school bus fares and petroleum, Malaysians may need to be more prudent in their daily expenditure.
Forget the evening hangouts at Starbucks after work, or that monthly shopping spree you always have with your friends. This time, you might really need to jot down your expenditure and make your own list based on a weekly or monthly budget.
According to reports, the lower income group, who earns below RM3,000 a month is expected to be the group hardest hit. However, just two days before the New Year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced a plan to somewhat cushion the blow with 11 measures to reduce public sector expenditure.
These measures include reducing the entertainment allowance of senior government officers on the Jusa C Grade and above by between five and 10 per cent, reducing the toll facility for senior government officers by between RM50 and RM100 or 30 per cent, and many more.
Will Malaysians survive this year's financial living cost crisis, or will another mass rally take place in the near future?
Wearable gadgets
Since the inroduction of Google Glass, Samsung's Galaxy Gear, the Pebble watch, Fitbit, Jawbone, and the Sony Smartwatch 2, the wearable technology industry is starting to become hotter than ever. Not only does it look cool to wear, but the trend is likely to grow by the end of this year.
But the thing is, when it comes to first or second generation products, the prices will be a bit too expensive for most of us especially with the rising cost of living and such. However, if the manufacturers manage to produce a less expensive version, we may all soon be walking around with small computers on our eyes or arms providing us with the latest news, information, messages, tweets and lots more.
Video shorts and 'selfies'
In 2013 we had the selfie phenomenon, a photo of oneself that is taken for the purpose of uploading it to social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
In 2014, well, we might have an upgraded version of the selfie - the video selfie! This bite-sized video of one's own self-expression is likely to become a part in everyone's daily social media activities.
Sometimes, photos and words are just not enough to express how you feel, something only short videos can achieve.
Some moments are worth showing and remembered, and thanks to applications like Vine, Snapchat and Instagram, people can now actually do just that.
More 'gangster' movies?
In the arena of arts and entertainment, it seems like our local filmmakers’ are now into action movies and love stories, apart from the horror flicks that have been mushrooming of late. It is likely that after the success of KL Gangster and KL Gangster 2, other filmmakers wouldn't want to be left out of the bandwagon due to the overwhelming response towards the genre. 2014 will see more movie-makers producing such films.
Besides that, the recent success of Ikal Mayang, may also draw filmmakers to consider coming up with another masterpiece similar to this one. Ikal Mayang is a project of 15 short films directed by local inspiring female directors who either wrote their own stories or worked with a female writer for a common cause - to raise women’s voices in the world.
It's not surprising that after the production of Ikal Mayang, more and more 'unknown' directors will emerge to produce top quality short films that can one day put international short films to shame.
Renewed hope for Harimau Malaya
Apart from politics and gossip, another favourite subject of discussion at your local mamak stall would undeniably be football.
2014 marks a new phase for the Malaysian football squad as their coach Datuk K. Rajagopal's contract has officially ended on December 31, 2013. And, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has appointed Under-23 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee as their caretaker coach to get them up and running for the final Asian Cup Group D qualifier against Yemen on March 5.
Fans would surely want to see what change Kim Swee might bring to the team. Of course they also want to see who will officially replace Rajagopal. But for the time being, people would be eager to witness whether Kim Swee is able to shape Harimau Malaya the same as he did for the younger squad, Harimau Muda. Kim Swee's tactical and performance-based ways just might bring new hope for the hungry tiger.
Flocking of tourists
Since Malaysia has been named as one of the top 10 travel destinations for 2014 by Lonely Planet, it is likely that the year might witness a season where tourists from all over the world would be flocking to the country's favourite tourist hot spots and shopping centres.
Being the only Asian country that made it to the list; the recently opened Legoland Malaysia, Hello Kitty Land, the Melaka Bird Park along with the ever existing Cameron Highlands, Langkawi and Tioman Island, Malaysia would surely become a tourist spot that can be reckoned with.
Apart from that, Kuala Lumpur has also targetted 15 million tourists to visit the city this year in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014.
A year of healing?
Since the past few years, Malaysians have been facing a lot of uncertainties. Among the issues were the rise in living costs, racial and religious issues, crime surge, gutter politics, press freedom, and others.
But the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) has recently called for everyone in the country to welcome 2014 by opening up a chance for healing. In a statement, its CEO Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah proposed all stakeholders, especially the civil society, to band together to help make 2014 better than last year.
2014 will be a period of healing for those who left 2013 feeling hurt. It will be a time for everyone to reflect and truly think about the importance of unity, the importance of working together and importance of making Malaysia a better nation.
Happy New Year!
