COMMENT | One year after the Sheraton Move, Malaysia is struggling to move forward. Arguably, the backroom deals made public from the Sheraton Hotel epitomise the problems of the country’s elite politics.

The ABCs - Ambition, Betrayal and Cunning - were on display in a self-absorbed show that was about the politicians rather than the people. That politicians look out for their own interests is neither new nor surprising, but for many watching the week-long political theatre, it was heartbreaking. For some, a year later, it still is.

Malaysia’s political trajectory since the major turning point of 1998-1999 - the reformasi movement - has witnessed repeated openings and contractions in Malaysia’s democratic space.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak both promised reforms and left offices with mass public disappointment, and in Najib’s case, anger.

Pakatan Harapan in its 22 months in office delivered some modest reforms but a year later almost all of these initiatives have been reversed, a reversal that has been engineered by many who were elected into office on a Harapan ticket...