COMMENT | Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang called it the “night of the long knives”. It may not have been the most appropriate description but to many Malaysians, it was a “reign of terror”.

It started with the unceremonious removal of attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail (above) on July 27, 2015 and ended on May 9, 2018. Over this period, it was “law of the jungle” as almost all state agencies discarded their standard operating procedures (SOPs).

What started as a fortnight-long exercise of destroying systems, establishments, procedures and even law and order, extended for almost three years. It ended only when the BN regime under Abdul Najib Razak was booted out of office.

During that period, families were ruined and many lives destroyed. For others, their careers were wrecked and their lives changed forever. As we sit back and learn bits and pieces that have emerged in court hearings and other official domains, we have to look back and thank ourselves. Had we not brought a change at the hustings last year, our destiny and our lives would have gotten...