IN 10 days, we will mark our 62nd year of Merdeka but unlike last year when elation was in the air with a new government in Putrajaya, the prevailing mood is one of melancholy.

IN English, the word ‘khat’ is used to refer to the leaves of an Arabian bush that are either chewed or made into tea. ‘Khat’ is deemed an illegal drug in some countries because the leaves contain an opiate-like stimulant, much like our ‘ketum’.