Highlights of the Decade

10 years is not a short period of time. A lot can change in a decade. On the dawn of January 1st, 2010, Taipei 101, a skyscraper located at Taiwan was still the tallest building in the world after surpassing our very own Petronas Twin Towers in the year 2004. At the time, Spotify was still not one of the most popular music streaming platform and famous apps like Tinder, Twitch and TikTok didn’t even exist.

The past decade can be referred to as the decade of technological advancement. From a smartphone with only a single camera, now we have a smartphone with 4 cameras that all work together to produce a better picture quality. As amazing as it gets, we now have plans and steps are already taken for the colonization of Mars. There is only so much we can achieve in this world. But let’s not get too ahead of things and just have a look at what Malaysia, our nation, has gone through the past decade.

 

2010

-On 18th January, the MyID, an electronic government transaction scheme was launched. This project is continued until today to show and prove that we are Malaysians.

-On 2nd of February the ICAO version of the Malaysian passport was launched.

Penang Hill\’s iconic funicular train made its final run after 87 years on 20th February. It would be replaced by a RM63 mil upgraded system seven months later.

-On 14th March, Malaysia\’s World no.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei won the All England men\’s title.

-On 20th June, The 115-year-old Pudu Prison\’s wall between Jalan Pudu and Jalan Hang TuahKuala Lumpur was demolished to make way for a road-widening project, which included the construction of an underpass at Jalan Pudu and Hang Tuah junctions.

-On 12th August, The Ipoh–Kuala Lumpur–Seremban electric train service (ETS) express route began operations.

-On 18th December, The Sungai Buloh–Kajang MRT Line, part of the Klang Valley Mass Rail Transit (MRT) project was unveiled. Construction would begin in July 2011.

 

2011

-On 1st January, The Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transport Terminal (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) was opened for public.

-On 13th March, World\’s no.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei won All England title for the second time beating China\’s Lin Dan in the finals at BirminghamEngland.

-On 8th July, The Klang Valley\’s MY Rapid Transit (MRT) project was officially launched by the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. Construction of the Sungai Buloh–Kajang line, part of the Klang Valley\’s MRT system began.

-On 6th August, the largest dam in Malaysia and Southeast Asia opened, the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam.

-On 3rd September, Google started to collaborate with Tourism Malaysia to record Malaysian locations to be featured on its Google Map Street View.

-On 3rd November, Malaysia officially became a member of the Antarctic Treaty Pact. It is the first ASEAN country and the 49th nation to do so.

 

 

2012

-On 28th January, the official opening ceremony for Kuala Lumpur City Centre to Bukit Bintang Pedestrian Walkway that was equipped with air conditioner and wi-fi. It was opened for public use a month later.

-On 16th April, The Proton Prevé, Malaysia\’s first global car was launched.

-On 9th June, The Sunway Bus Rapid Transit (Sunway BRT) project was officially launched by the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. This was the first bus rapid transit (BRT) in the country.

-On 22nd September, The Automated Enforcement System (AES) came into force at all major roads, highways and expressways nationwide.

-On 8 December, Hotel Majestic in Kuala Lumpur reopened after 28 years in closure.

 

2013

-On 1st February, The old Istana Negara at Bukit Petaling was converted into the Royal Museum.

-On 14th April, it was the official opening of the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) by the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

-On 13th August, Mrs Malaysia Universe Carol Lee was crowned Mrs Universe 2013, becoming the first Asian to win the international pageant.

-On 16th September, Malaysia celebrates its 50 years of formation.

-On 2nd October, The Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) secondary school examinations were held for the last time before being replaced by the Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) examination next year.

-On 20th October, The Legoland Malaysia Water Theme Park, the second Legoland Malaysia\’s attractions was opened to public.

-On 13th December, it was the first breakthrough for the Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machines at the KL Sentral MRT Station construction site.

-On 28th December, Malaysia was the first country in South East Asia to be chosen as the Theme Nation at the Tokyo International Book Fair 2014 the following year.

 

2014

-On 9th January, the world\’s first Variable Density Tunnel Boring Machines made its breakthrough at the Pasar Rakyat MRT Station construction site.

-On 16th January, South East Asia’s first ever Chocolate Museum in Kota Damansara, Selangor officially opened.

-On 8th February, the first known Malaysian dinosaur fossil, a 75 million-year-old Spinosaurid tooth was discovered in Pahang.

-On 1st March, the official opening ceremony of the Penang Second Bridge by the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. The bridge was officially named as the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge.

-On 8th March, the Boeing 777-2H6ER of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which was carrying 227 passengers, including 2 infants, and 12 crew members on board from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was reported missing from Subang Air Traffic Control Centre radar. At 12:00 pm, the Boeing 777-2H6ER of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was found missing at the South China Sea near Vietnam.

-On 2nd May, the commercial opening of the KLIA 2, part of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

-On 15th September, Malaysia\’s first Electric Efficient Vehicle (EEV), Perodua Axia was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.

-On 26th September, Google updated its Google Maps in Malaysia by publishing Google Street View imagery of the country.

 

2015

-On 31st March, the official launching of the dual-carriageway toll free Pan Borneo Expressway in Sarawak by the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak.

-On 1st April, the opening of the Electric Train Service (ETS) of the IpohPadang Besar line.

On 1st April, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia.

-On 2nd August, the New Straits Times celebrates its 170th anniversary.

-On 31st December, the formation of the ASEAN Community (AC).

 

2016

-On 1st January, A&W drive in restaurant at SerembanNegeri Sembilan ceased its premises after 37 years of operation which begun in 1978.

-On 28th January, Ola Bola, Malaysia\’s first sports film was released in cinemas. Directed by Chiu Keng Guan. The film tells about the glories of Malaysia national football team which successfully entered the 1980 Summer Olympics.

-On 4th March, Former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad and longtime political enemies, opposition leaders and civil society signs the Malaysian Citizens\’ Declaration to demand Prime Minister Najib Razak\’s resignation from office.

-On 29th March, taxi drivers staged a protest in Bukit BintangKuala Lumpur as they were protesting against Uber and GrabCar. Later, police detained five taxi drivers who took part in a protest against Uber and Grabcar in Bukit Bintang.

-On 5th September, the official launching of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line project by the Prime Minister, Najib Razak in Putrajaya SentralPutrajaya.

 

2017

-On 22nd March, Google Doodle honours P RamleeMalaysian actor and director at Malaysian homepage engine to celebrate his 88th birthday.

-On 26th April, full implementation of the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) such as Touch \’n Go and Smart TAG at all Malaysian expressways.

-On 11th May, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) celebrate its 71st anniversary since it was founded in 1946.

-On 25th May, the official opening of the Klang Third Bridge crossing Klang River in KlangSelangor.

-On 26th May, the official opening of the Velodrome Nasional, the first indoor cycling track in Malaysia.

-On 13th June, the official opening of Nasyrul Quran, the complex for the Quran printing in Putrajaya. This becomes second largest complex for Quran printing in the world after King Fahd Complex in MedinaSaudi Arabia.

-On 9th July, Malaysia won 20 gold medals in the 21st World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) that was held in the Long BeachCaliforniaUnited States.

-On 15th July, Malaysian Statistics Department recorded the Malaysian population that year was estimated at 32 million, 28.7 million Malaysian citizens while the rest are non-citizens.

-On 8th August, the official opening of the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).

-On 19th November, the third-generation Perodua Myvi was officially launched.

2018

-On 1st January, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) had fully digitalized terrestrial television (DTT).

-On 7th January, Pakatan Harapan has chosen former Prime Minister and coalition chairman, Mahathir Mohamad, and coalition president, Wan Azizah, as their candidate for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister post respectively for the upcoming General Election.

-On 9th May, The 14th general election was held. For the first time in the country\’s history, the Barisan Nasional coalition was defeated by the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, only winning 79 seats against Pakatan Harapan\’s 121. The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party won 18 seats while independents won 3 seats. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led Pakatan Harapan to victory, manage to defeat his protege Najib Razak.

-On 10th May, Mahathir Mohamad is sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia at 2130 hours (GMT+8), as he becomes the world\’s oldest elected state leader at the age of 92. This marks his return to the position after holding the post previously for 22 years, from 1981 to 2003.

-On 28th May, Mahathir postponed the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail project citing the enormous cost of construction and gloom prospects of returns and benefits for Malaysia.

-On 1st June, the hugely unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST) is reduced to 0% by the Malaysian Government.

-On 1st September, Sales and services tax (SST) replaced Goods and Services Tax (GST).

-On 26th November, a riot took place at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Subang Jaya between the  property developer and the temple devotees over an issue of relocating the temple.

 

2019

-On 1st January, smoking ban took effect throughout Malaysia.

-On 13th June, Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement.

-On 6th October, Mugen Rao, an Malaysian artist, won the Big Boss tamil reality TV show.

-On 30th November to 11th December, Malaysia participated in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games with 773 athletes in 52 sports. It ranked 5th among the participating nations with 56 gold medals, 57 silver medals and 71 bronze medals.

-On 18th December to 21st December, the 2019 Kuala Lumpur Summit was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. It was attended mainly by the world\’s Muslim countries leaders and delegates.

 

Some of the most wonderful things had happened within these past decade, yet there were a number of tragedies too. Just as life itself, the past decade was not a bed of roses but here we are standing strong. Let’s all just respect all the good and bad that has happened in the 2010s, and carry on forward to a brand new decade with more journeys and adventures awaiting!

Written By: Arveen Anbarasan

Cover Photo By: Nu\’man bin Abdul Jamil

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