THE SPM exams have just ended. And the SPM exams are here again. Testing times just don’t seem to go away for our students.

There are many things wrong with the country and a lot that needs to be done to turn things around, but it’s amazing that many of our politicians have their minds elsewhere.

Young ones have ended up losing a shot at fame, their dignity and their faith because of the irresponsible acts and decisions of the older folk.

Change, they say, is the only constant. And Malaysia has finally proved this right. The change the country is seeing is so exciting. For journalists, it’s the early 80s once more.

The circus is in town. Shout it out from the streets – or just type out the messages in the impersonal cyberspace. It’s time for the (political) parties. The ringmasters, the pretty artistes and the acrobats are out in all their glory. Oh, and the clowns are here, too.

SO the show begins. The dates for the long, long-awaited general elections are finally known. And already, the excitement is at fever-pitch.

But it’s that time of the year - when fake news starts to fly like, well… flies.

The statistics are terrifying. There are more bits of plastic in our seas than there are stars in our galaxy. Very soon, even the fish will be outnumbered. The result? Catastrophe. All because of our plastics.

Two Chinese New Years saw two sad events, with the passing of sports legends. But the greater sadness was the forgetfulness of Malaysians.

Life’s a bitch. These are heartbreaking times, with so many sad stories around us. However, as the Year of the Dog prances in, we can focus on the positive and see what we can do to help make things better.

WHAT a Wednesday! Okay, what a rotten Wednesday.

At the base of the National Monument is an inscription: ‘To Our Glorious Dead and the Emergency’. It honours the people – of many races and many nationalities – who died fighting for this nation.