COMMENT | One can be forgiven for overlooking the need to recap the year behind us.

The year 2022 was characterised – domestically and on the global stage – as lurching from one dumpster fire to another: from the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis to economic recession, food inflation, collapsing asset prices, liquidity squeezes and the stubbornly lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Every cloud has its silver lining. However, the hotly fought contests late in the year in politics, markets (and football) have each brought in the spotlight of change, which, if taken at its helm, holds great promise. 

So, rather than doom and gloom, this year-end ode carries a hopeful message for an Innovation Nation in the making.

In Putrajaya, a newly elected administration is settling in, with a renewed focus on international (or, at very least, regional) engagement...