Spotlight on two state leaders

The fate of two state government heads, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and former Kedah mentri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, dominated the news in the first half of an eventful 2016.
Lim was in the spotlight over his purchase of a bungalow allegedly below the market value. He was eventually charged with graft and abuse of power on May 31. He claimed trial and the Penang High Court fixed several dates in 2017 for the trial.
The two-term chief minister told the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) to explain the sale of land allegedly below market value shortly after his bungalow case was highlighted.
After he was charged, DAP, of which Lim is the secretary-general, mulled dissolving the Penang legislature to pave the way for snap polls.
The move failed to materialise after PKR, a component party in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) national opposition front, did not agree to the proposal.
On Feb 4 in ALOR STAR, Bakar Bata assemblyman Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah was sworn in as the 12th Kedah mentri besar, just before the Chinese New Year.
He replaced Mukhriz, who has since joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), after a two-week political crisis during which Kedah Umno divisions dropped their support for Mukhriz.

Also in Kedah, concerns were raised after a group of university students were seen playing games on top of a chandi at the Bujang Valley Archaeological Musuem in Pekan Merbok.
theSun was alerted to the April 9 incident by a reader who expressed shock at how artifacts aged more than 1,500 years could be treated in such a manner and called for stringent measures to be taken to preserve archaeological treasures.
Following the incident, the Kedah government initiated a probe and tightened monitoring and security measures at the museum, which is popular among local and foreign history enthusiasts.
In PENANG, floods became the talk of the town in the second half of the year after four incidents of flash floods wreaked havoc on the island within 10 days in October and November following heavy rains.
Several areas were severely flooded, resulting in SPM candidates staying in flooded areas being ferried to examination centres in boats deployed by emergency and rescue services agencies.
During heavy rain on Nov 7, two landslides in Jalan Ujung Batu forced the closure of the road, resulting in Teluk Bahang residents having to use alternative routes.
The state came under heavy criticism for the floods, prompting the immediate approval of more than RM600,000 for flood mitigation projects while another RM220 million has been allocated for next year.
Between politics and bad weather, heritage issues were also in the spotlight after gentrification concerns were raised in July due to rising rents in the George Town Heritage Zone.
In response, the state started gathering information on the possibility of reintroducing a form of rent control law similar to the repealed Rent Control Act 1966.
On April 7, the public were awed by the capture of a 7.5m python by the Civil Defence Force at a construction site in Paya Terubong.
However, things did not end well has the snake, said to be the longest in captivity, died a day later after laying a single ping pong ball-sized egg.
Another snake incident terrified the public on Aug 22 when a two-metre king cobra was found slithering around the Taman Pauh flats in Butterworth. Alarmed residents contacted snake charmers to capture the reptile and the snake was later released into the wild.