Each time I log in to non-mainstream media to catch up on news in Malaysia, I see the same old stories about how bad things have become since the 1980s - from financial scandals and systemic corruption to institutional discrimination and dill heads running the country. My reactions have become passé .

Each time I come home, friends and kin tell more stories about how bleak they see their future as being. Once, these were mere stories and theories we shared over mugs of teh tarik during the pre-Internet days when the government-controlled media was our main source of political news.