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issUe 75 | tUesDAY, JUNe 30, 2015

news 2

Parliament to debate new

set of charter changes
Debate starts today on a second round
of major changes to the constitution,
with MPs holding little hope that the
military bloc, holding an effective
power of veto, will give the green light.
news 4

Thai permit scheme for

workers sees slow start
A scheme to regularise Myanmar
migrant workers in Thailand seems
to be running aground as workers
find it both unreliable and expensive.
Holders of pink cards are legally
entitled to work in Thailand.

BUsIness 8

Carlsberg Myanmar boss

talks beer and drinking
The Danish multinational aims to shake
up the local market, which is dominated
by Myanmar Beer. Its local head,
Anthony Clark, says the key is knowing
the consumer.
BUsIness 9

PAGE

Photo: kAUNg htet

An election worker in Sittwe, Rakhine State, sticks voter lists on a board for public
display so residents can check that their names and data are entered correctly. Mistakes
and omissions nationwide are driving some political parties to make door-to-door visits,
with two NLD activists arrested in Nay Pyi Taw for trespassing.

Imported cars lose parts to

sticky fingers
Vehicle importers are calling on
authorities to end the disappearance of
parts from imported cars, which they
say happens between unloading from
ships and delivery to the importer.

Govt urges early ceasefire

Negotiators warn armed ethnic groups that time is running out to seal a nationwide ceasefire pact before the peace
process is frozen by elections and transition to a new government. A next round of talks is to begin soon. news 3

MPs hold little hope for next constitutional amendment proposals

EI EI TOE LWIN
eieitoelwin@gmail.com
PARLIAMENT is to start debating today a second round of major changes
to the constitution with MPs holding little hope that the military bloc,
holding an effective power of veto,
will give the necessary green light following their rejection last week of an
earlier set of suggested amendments
to Myanmars 2008 charter.
Three days of debate will be held
in the combined chambers of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on about 30 sections of the constitution, with 63 MPs
registered to take part, including 18
from the ruling Union Solidarity and
Development Party, 18 from the National League for Democracy, 12 military MPs and 15 from other parties.
The proposed changes focus
mainly on the appointment of Union
ministers, and the sharing of authority and resources between the central
government and the 14 state and regional governments. The bill proposes that Union ministers must be MPs,
including the three ministers directly
appointed by the commander-in-chief

for defence, border affairs and home

affairs.
The bill also addresses demands
by ethnic minority politicians to give
elected state parliaments the right to
choose their chief ministers, who are
currently appointed by the president.
Under proposed changes to section 262, the 14 state and region parliaments will nominate candidates
for chief minister and choose them
by a vote.
The selected candidate will then
be sent to the president for approval.
If rejected on reasonable grounds,
the parliament can nominate another
candidate. The chief minister and
members of state and region governments must all be serving MPs.
MPs contacted by The Myanmar
Times said they expected the military
bloc, with its 25 percent of delegates,
would reject proposed changes to the
constitution they had put in place.
As our experience showed over
section 436, we have few expectations over these proposed changes.
The result of the previous debate
showed very clearly we cant achieve
any changes without the approval of

military MPs, said Daw Khin San

Hlaing of the NLD.
On June 25 the military blocked
five proposed amendments, including those to section 436, which would
have lowered the threshold needed
to change the constitution in parliament from 75pc of all MPs to 70pc.
Some USDP members also voted
against the changes, while 50 MPs
were absent.

I dont believe the

military will accept
a bill that could
lead to a lesser role
for the military in
national leadership
and politics.
U Aye Maung
Rakhine National Party

NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu

Kyi said last weeks outcome demonstrated that the military was not
for reform, but at least people who
wanted change would know now who
to vote for in this Novembers general
elections.
U Aye Maung of the Rakhine National Party said he did not believe
changes could come without the prior common agreement of the government, military and parliament.
I dont believe the military will
accept a bill that could lead to a
lesser role for the military in national
leadership and politics. Thats why
we asked for six-party talks, he said,
referring to high-level talks on the issue that convened only once in April
without result.
U Ye Htun of the Shan National
Development Party told The Myanmar Times that demands by ethnic
parties for power sharing between the
central and state governments would
only be fulfilled through political dialogue, not in parliament. However,
he said that military representatives
had proposed some decentralisation
of power.

But I cant predict to what extent [the military] will accept sharing powers with states and regions.
I will wait and see their discussions,
he said.
The 30 proposed amendments can
be passed with 75pc of all 633 MPs in
favour without the need to hold a national referendum. A date for voting
has not been confirmed but MPs expect it to take place on July 4.
I think the Speaker should not
make it a matter of urgency to approve the amendment bill. It is not
enough time to discuss 30 proposed
amendments over three days. We
should get more time to discuss, said
Daw Khin San Hlaing.
U Thein Swe, an NLD representative in the upper house, said the final
word rested with the military commander-in-chief, Senior General Min
Aung Hlaing.
I want him to focus mainly on the
people. I want him to make changes
for the public. Our country currently
needs to make changes, and all stakeholders should try to make changes
at this moment, he said. Additional
reporting by Pyae Thet Phyo

NLD members face trespassing charges

EI EI TOE LWIN

LUN MIN MANG

OPPOSITION leader Daw Aung San

Suu Kyi has sprung to the defence
of two members of her National
League for Democracy party following their arrest for criminal
trespass. The two had entered the
home of a Nay Pyi Taw resident
while checking on the accuracy of
the local voters register.
The NLD says they had the permission of the homeowner to enter.
For several weeks, in different
parts of the country, the Union Election Commission has been seeking
the cooperation of political parties, civil society groups and voters in checking the provisional voters lists, including in Yangon and
Mandalay.

If this is an attempt
to prevent voter
education, its a
matter of great
concern.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
National League for Democracy

National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi talks with local residents during a door-to-door voter
education campaign in Pobbathiri township, Nay Pyi Taw, on June 27. Photo: AFP

Voters who spot errors or omissions in the list are asked to point
them out to the electoral authorities
for correction.
The complaint against the two
party workers was filed by a resident
in Shwe Kyar Pin ward of Zabuthiri
township last week after NLD members U Tin Htay and U Sein Mya
Maung went to check the voters list
on June 18.

U Nyi Nyi Zaw, a member of the

NLD in Nay Pyi Taw, told the media
that the resident allowed the NLD
members to enter the house to check
the accuracy of the list.
But later, the house owner filed
a complaint to police, accusing the
members of trespassing, he said yesterday.
Despite the appeal from UEC
chair U Tin Aye to the NLD and

other parties to work together in ensuring accurate and complete lists,

U Phyo Zayyar Thaw, the NLDs MP
for Pobbathiri township, Nay Pyi
Taw, said township and electoral
sub-commission officials had refused them entry to houses in the
ward.
Our voter list scrutiny team was
met by township level election subcommission. They said that such pro-

cesses as voter list checking are their

responsibility, said U Phyo Zayyar
Thaw.
They said residents could be
confused if a political party was doing the job of the electoral sub-commission. They asked us to undertake
not to do it again, and we refused,
he said.
Nay Pyi Taw Police Second Lieutenant Tin Soe confirmed that
charges had been filed and the case
resulting from the June 20 complaint
was pending. The charge carries a potential three-month prison sentence,
plus a fine.
NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi said her party members had got
the consent of the owner of the house
before entering to check the voter details.
We are not canvassing for votes
for our party. We are engaged in civic
education and helping voters ensure
that their names have been included
in the voters lists. We are amazed at
this reaction. If this is an attempt to
prevent voter education, its a matter of great concern, she told a press
conference at her hluttaw office on
June 26.
Electoral rules prevent parties
campaigning for their candidates
until 60 days before the date of the
election, which has not yet been
announced.
Under the electoral laws, we still
have the right to campaign for our
party, just not for a candidate. But
what we were doing was checking
the accuracy of the voters lists, Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi said.

www.mmtimes.com

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

News 3

Time running out for ceasefire deal

If an agreement is not signed by mid-August, any progress on a peace treaty will have to wait for at least one year from now, officials warn

THOMAS
KEAN
tdkean@gmail.com

FAILURE to reach agreement on a

ceasefire within the next two months
could result in the process being delayed for almost a year due to the elections and political transition, a senior
negotiator warned yesterday.
U Min Zaw Oo, director of ceasefire negotiation and implementation
at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC),
said the announcement of the election
date and opening of candidate registration in August would bring negotiations to a halt.
The latest is mid-August. After
mid-August everyone in the government is going to be tied up with the
election, he said.
The next government comes to
power in March [and the] earliest
we can do anything substantial will be
June. Thats one year from this point
to 2016 if we dont have anything substantial [by August]. And anything can
happen, because the ceasefire is still
fragile.
Speaking at the Peacebuilding in
Asia Scholars Forum at Yangon University, he said the government was keen to
revive stalled peace talks but is resistant
to recently proposed changes to a draft
ceasefire text and a new negotiating
team formed by armed ethnic groups.
But in a clear sign that the government was not closing the door on further dialogue, he added, We are now
trying to work out how to resume the
process of negotiation.
Separately, U Hla Maung Shwe,
senior advisor to the MPC, told The
Myanmar Times that U Aung Min, the
governments chief negotiator, would
meet informally in Chiang Mai with
representatives of the armed ethnic
groups in the first week of July. Discussions would include amendments
to the ceasefire text proposed by the
armed groups.
U Min Zaw Oo said the inclusiveness of the ceasefire remained an issue, with armed groups trying to bring
six new parties into the agreement.
He said the new 15-member negotiating team, like its predecessor, the
Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination
Team, did not have the authority to

President U Thein Sein (left) greets Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team leader Naing Han Tha (centre) and Padoh Kwe Htoo Win of the Karen National Union after
they signed the nationwide ceasefire draft agreement at the Myanmar Peace Center in Yangon on March 31. Photo: EPA

confirm an agreement with the government, which left negotiators in a

catch-22 position where ethnic leaders could reject the results of peace
talks.
Meanwhile, the government is resistant to considering the 12 changes
to the text agreed in principle on
March 31 that armed ethnic groups
put forward following talks held in
Law Khee Lar in early June.
Two of the changes refer to unresolved issues international observers
and who can sign the document but
the rest have already been discussed,
he said.
But inclusiveness remains a major
issue, and not only for the three NCCT
members fighting the Tatmadaw in
the Kokang region, who the government says cannot sign the agreement
unless fighting stops.
When it comes to inclusiveness I
think it will be a very challenging task
[to agree a ceasefire]. Even when the

next government comes to power

were going to have a very hard time
moving forward, U Min Zaw Oo said.
U Aung Min warned last week
that decisions taken over the coming days by the ethnic armed groups
would determine whether Myanmar
moved toward a just and sustainable
peace or whether we lose this unique
opportunity, perhaps once and for all.
I fear that we are on the brink of
losing the best chance in our lifetimes
to end once and for all the armed violence that has plagued Myanmar since
independence, he wrote in Foreign
Policy.
The government, armed forces and
parliament wanted to finalise the draft
nationwide ceasefire agreement now
and move on to the next stage of political dialogue before the elections.
What remains is for the leadership of
the ethnic armed groups to give their
agreement, U Aung Min said. He
made no mention of their proposed

changes to the ceasefire text.

However, he did say that the subsequent political dialogue would be
inclusive, involving all ethnic armed
groups on an equal basis, regardless of
size. U Min Zaw Oo confirmed yesterday that this included the three armed
groups fighting in Kokang.
Diplomats following the negotiations said the process had been hampered by divisions between and within
the armed groups. This was echoed by
U Aung Min who said he knew that
some of the groups were uncertain
about signing the pact but that he
hoped the bigger and more influential groups will now help to find a way
forward from the current impasse.
David Mathieson, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch, said
the possibility of the peace process going into deep freeze for the next eight
months could provide a necessary period of reflection on issues to be raised
in the next stage of the peace process.

The first is a more open discussion

in Myanmar society about the role of
armed groups, primarily the Tatmadaw: what role the Tatmadaw plays
in everyday lives. Also quite crucially
is the role of ethnic armed groups,
many of whom in certain opposition
circles take on a level of reverence that
is unwarranted. Some of these organisations are deeply corrupt, and have
been deeply abusive for many years,
Mr Mathieson said.
Myanmar, he said, needed a more
open social discussion of the impacts
of the decades-long conflict on many
people.
It would be a very rewarding process during the next stage of the process for more people to talk about their
lived experiences. Call that whatever
you want a truth and reconciliation
process but I like to think about it as
an unfettered public discussion about
the conflicts of the past 60 years, he
said.

KIA accused of shelling close to Muse trading zone

YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com
THE Tatmadaw has accused the
Kachin Independence Army (KIA)
of firing several artillery rounds in
the area of the 105 Mile trading zone
in Muse township in northern Shan
State, which is also the countrys most
important border crossing for trade
with China.
Myawady Daily, a military newspaper, reported yesterday that at least
three shells were fired on June 28,
wounding two residents. Shells were
said to have landed first near the Shwe
Leik Pyar restaurant, then a branch of
Myanmar Citizens Bank and the third
near the agricultural commodities exchange centre.
The shells landed 13 kilometres (8
miles) from the main border crossing
point with China and there was no disruption to trade, a senior commercial
official told The Myanmar Times.
The reported incidents were the latest signs of increased tensions between
armed ethnic groups and government
forces in Kachin and Shan states since
nationwide ceasefire talks stalled in
early June, with both sides accusing

each other of initiating fighting.

However, Major Teng Seng of the
KIA denied that his group was responsible for the shelling in Muse township, saying the Shan State Army or
the Taang National Liberation Army
could have been responsible.
I think the Tatmadaw blamed it
on us because we accused them of using artillery near a boarding school

I think the
Tatmadaw has no
intention of signing
the nationwide
ceasefire agreement.
Otherwise they
would not attack the
ethnic armed groups.
Major Teng Seng
Kachin Independence Army

Kachin Independence Army recruits attend military training in Laiza, Kachin

State, in September 2012. Photo: EPA/Nyein Chan Naing

in Laiza [the KIA headquarters] last

week. But we have evidence, the KIA
major said. He said the shell landed
about 200 metres (660 feet) from the
dormitory and the headmasters house
of Alem Bum boarding school.
Major Teng Seng said that fighting
between the KIA and the Tatmadaw
had resumed in the jade mining area

of Hpakant in Kachin State following

initial clashes two weeks ago. Local
aid groups said about 200 people had
been displaced by the first outbreak.
I think the Tatmadaw has no intention of signing the nationwide
ceasefire agreement. Otherwise they
would not attack the ethnic armed
groups, said Maj Teng Seng.

A senior police officer in Muse said

police and Tatmadaw had checked the
areas near Muse hit by artillery fire and
found remnants of shells. Police said
they were still investigating and could
not confirm the Tatmadaws allegations
that the KIA was responsible.
Myawady Daily said the KIA was
attempting to disrupt stability and
sow fear among residents.
A colonel acting as spokesperson
for the Tatmadaws Public Relations
and Psychological Warfare section
said yesterday the military had evidence of KIA responsibility for the
alleged Muse shelling. He declined to
give further comment.
Nine local humanitarian agencies
released a statement on June 26 calling on all sides in Kachin State to take
measures to protect civilians in armed
conflicts.
The Kachin conflict is one of the
longest-running ethnic insurgencies in
Myanmar. A ceasefire agreed in 1994
lasted until 2011. Peace talks, mediated
initially by China, resulted in an agreement in May 2013 to scale back hostilities, but not a ceasefire. About 100,000
people remain in camps for internally
displaced persons.

4 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 30, 2015

Chief Executive Officer

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Myanmar migrant workers queue at a one-stop centre for pink cards in Mae Sot, Thailand, on June 29. Photo: Zarni Phyo

Myanmar workers in Thailand see

few advantages in permit scheme
NYAN LYNN
AUNG
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com

A SCHEME to regularise Myanmar

migrant workers in Thailand seems to
be running aground as workers find
it is both unreliable and expensive.
Holders of the work permits known as
pink cards are legally entitled to work
in Thailand, and can apply for a work
permit, a visa and a Myanmar passport.
After discussions with the Myanmar government, the Thai government
agreed last March to honour existing
pink cards until April 2016. Until then,
workers can register for a work permit
and visa to cover the period after that
date. They also have until 2017 to produce their national registration card
(NRC) and official household document in order to acquire a passport.
Migrant workers now have much
longer to get a passport, U Myo
Aung, director general of the Department of Labour, said at the time.
However, undocumented Myanmar
workers in Thailand, whose numbers
are unknown but are thought to be
large, do not appear to benefit from
this agreement.

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For at least three

days a week I have to
hide from police ...
If Im hiding, I dont
get paid.
Ma Khine Cho Oo
Migrant worker

baht [US$3] when they were arrested.

But now the police are asking 500
baht, even from pink-card holders, he
told The Myanmar Times.
Small-scale employers have acquired pink cards for their workers,
charging them 3000 baht.
Ko Naing Win, who works in a garment factory in Mae Sot, said the factory owner charged his workers 100
baht a month in exchange for their
card. But he withheld the cards until the workers had finished paying
for them, providing them with only a
copy.
Ma Khine Cho Oo, whose employer
has registered her for a card, said it
did not cover her needs.
Although he handed over her card
when she changed jobs, the card still
lists the original employer, meaning
she is not entitled to work at her new
job.
For at least three days a week I
have to hide from the police. I am
not a permanent worker. My pay depends on my output. If Im hiding, I
dont get paid, she said, adding that
she is still better off with a pink card
than she was when she held no document at all.
Ma Heay Man Thwel, community
liaison officer of the Foundation of
Education Development, said the Myanmar government was dragging its

feet on the migrant worker issue.

Most workers expected that getting a pink card would help them get
a passport. But the Myanmar government has issued no further information since, she said.
Mae Sot garment worker Ma Chit
Su, who has been working in the
border town for eight years, said she
could still work without a pink card,
and would not register for one. I get
just 4000 baht a month. I cant afford
a pink card, she said.
Some employers and workers see
advantages in the system, however.
Nat Ka Nan, who employs about 50
farm workers near Mae Sot, said most
were undocumented before he registered them all for pink cards. They
used to have to hide whenever the police came around, disrupting production, and he would have to bribe the
police, he said.
I let them keep their cards and
change jobs if they like because I
cant pay high wages. But I had to
register them to ensure workplace
safety, he said, adding that they
no longer need to hide from the
authorities.
Entrepreneur Ko Hla Min said, I
paid a local employer 1500 baht to
register myself as a worker under his
name. But Im really a businessman.
Having a pink card is useful.

No national budget for maternity cash transfer

SHWE YEE SAW MYINT
poepwintphyu2011@gmail.com

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

www.mmtimes.com

Scepticism abounds. Of the 70,000

workers in the border town of Mae Sot
who signed up for the program, only
half have so far registered. The deadline for registration is today.
Many workers say the pink card
does not offer enough advantage to be
worth the cost.
U Sai Aung, a member of the Pan
Kant Gaw workers association in
Mae Sot, said most workers thought
they could apply for a Myanmar passport after registering for a pink card.
But in the absence of detailed information about how to acquire a passport, most workers have refrained
from registering.
Many find it too expensive.
Before, undocumented workers
would pay the Thai police 100 Thai

A PLAN to provide K15,000 a month to

young mothers with children aged up
to two years old has been shelved, at
least temporarily, for lack of funding.
The Ministry of Social Welfare, which is
responsible for the scheme, says it does
not have enough money in its budget.
Spokesperson U Lwin Oo told The
Myanmar Times yesterday that the
ministrys request for funds to support pregnant and breastfeeding
women with young children in order
to improve their health and nutrition had not been approved.
We have a national policy to

implement this maternal cash project, and we will launch it as soon as

we have the budget, he said.
But a nutritional specialist who
requested anonymity said money
was not the only problem.
Addressing malnutrition requires a political commitment. Although Myanmar has a high rate of
chronic malnutrition, there is plenty
of research and evidence from all
over the world on how to reduce it.
But decision-makers are not paying
much attention.
Statistics show that almost 9
percent of infants in Myanmar are
born underweight, meaning they are
malnourished even before they are

born. Experts say damage during the

first two years is largely irreversible
and has a devastating impact on the
childs future growth, even if nutrition improves after the age of two.
In addition, 35pc of children under five are stunted and suffer from
chronic malnutrition.
Three months into the financial
year, the effects of the decisions
made in hluttaw at the time of the
budget debate are coming into focus.
The social sector fared badly in the
fight for funding, receiving less than
1pc of the national budget for 20152016. In 2014-2015, social welfare
raked in just 0.08pc of the budget,
while education took nearly 6pc and

health was allocated just over 3pc.

UNICEF has said that implementing the full 10-year support strategy for mothers and children would
require considerable funding, but
would represent a key intervention
to break the cycle of poverty.
The first two elements of the
policy, a universal pension and a
cash transfer program for pregnant
women, would have cost about K1.3
trillion to implement in 2015-2016.
Daw San San Aye, deputy director
of the Department of Social Welfare,
said there was still a chance that
funding might become available in
September under a supplementary
budget mechanism.

News 5

www.mmtimes.com

Hluttaw
considers
updated
Sky Net
contract
HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
MRTVS contract with Sky Net
should be renegotiated to bring in
more money for the government and
allow cheaper subscriptions for the
public, the parliamentary accounts
committee has recommended.
Based on the findings of the Union Auditor Generals Office, Pyidaungsu Hluttaws Public Accounts
Joint Committee said the agreement
between Myanma Radio and Television and Shwe Than Lwin companys
Sky Net on operations and profitsharing should be amended.
In its June 26 report, the committee said, The contract should be
made again not to have substantial loss of government revenue, to
systematically receive specific rental
fees and to [allow] cheaper subscriptions for the public.
The government auditor said the
2010 contract exempted the company
from taxes and profit-sharing for the
first three years of TV broadcasting.

MPs can get very

excited about
debating a report like
this on government
expenses.
U Phone Myint Aung
Yangon MP

The committees report said the

company was supposed to start sharing its profits with the government
from 2013, but seemed unable to
calculate its profits systematically.
Instead, it paid infrastructure rent.
Though the company submitted
K30 million a month under the original agreement [and] K40.4 million a
month after the amended agreement
... Forever Group has to pay K305
million a month for infrastructure
rental, said the report.
To develop the infrastructure on
a 48,000-square-foot parcel of land,
MRTV entered into a joint venture
with Shwe Than Lwin. MRTV contributed US$350,000, while Shwe
Than Lwin paid in $290,000 and K2
billion.
Questions were also raised over
the number of set-top boxes Sky
Net had imported, but no answers
emerged from the press conference
organised by the information ministry, which oversees MRTV.
The contract requires Sky Net to
share after-tax profits with MRTV,
rising successively every five years
from zero for the first three years of
tax exemption to 25 percent after 30
years.
Since there is no systematic record of the profits from monthly subscription and income from TV ads, it
is difficult to calculate the basic rate
of the profit, and the subscription
the public needs to pay has not decreased, the audit committee found.
Yangon MP U Phone Myint Aung
said he anticipated a lively parliamentary debate.
MPs can get very excited about
debating a report like this on government expenses, he said.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Monks defy order to leave

monastery in Htauk Kyant
Sayadaw Ashin Khemacara says donation contract shows he is entitled to stay put as long as he is alive

AUNG
KYAW
MIN
aungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com

DEFIANT monks are refusing to

vacate a Yangon Region monastery
entangled in an ownership dispute.
They have vowed to stay with the
91-year-old abbot of Rathedaung
Monastery, Sayadaw Ashin Khemacara, despite a decision of the State
Sangha Vinaya Committee ordering
them off the premises.
Sayadaw Ashin Khemacara has
said he would call on President U
Thein Sein to support his decision to
stay in the monastery.
Ive been living in this monastery for more than 30 years, U Khemacara said at a press conference on
June 26. Ive done nothing wrong. I
asked the State Sangha Vinaya Committee to settle the monastery ownership dispute by presenting the
donation contract agreed by both
parties. This was their response,

which I dont think is right.

The dispute over the ownership of
Rathedaung Monastery located beside the Yangon-Pyay highway, in the
Htauk Kyant ward of Yangon Regions
Mingalardon township pits Ashin U
Khemacara against U Tin Hlaing, the
son of Daw Hmone, who dedicated
the building as a monastery.
At a meeting on June 15, the
47-member State Sangha Maha
Nayaka Committee approved the decision of State Sangha Vinaya Committee instructing the monks to quit
the monastery by June 28 on pain of
legal action.
The case resembles in some respects that ofMahasantisukha Monastery in Tarmwe township, currently
the object of a bitter court action. In
that case, the monastery was raided
by police last year and its abbot,
known as London Sayadaw, is facing
legal proceedings. However, the committee did agree to allow U Khemacara to remain on the premises.
They allowed him to stay, but
ordered everybody else to leave. Its
an impossible decision, because the
monks are caring for the abbot. Many

are his relatives. As long as the abbot

stays here, we wont leave. We will
stay with him wherever he goes, said
U Tejavuda, who helps look after the
abbot.
The monastery, which occupies
more than half an acre, is registered
as religious land with the Buddhist
Ordination Hall. It cannot be sold,
said Sayadaw U Cintamaya, who runs
the monasterys administration.
U Tin Hlaing placed his sayadaws
at the monastery in the past as rivals
of the abbot. It is reported that there
were moves to retake the monastery,
and that it had been sold to another
monk. But the donation agreement
does not allow the sale of the monastery. The abbot is still alive, and hes
not leaving, said U Cintamaya.
The contract, which is still in the
possession of U Khemacara, is entitled Tarwakalika [Temporary] Donation Agreement.
It states that Daw Hmone and
her son U Tin Hlaing temporarily
donated the building to Sayadaw U
Khemacara as Rathedaung Monastery but adds, It would be deemed
that the monastery compound and all

properties donated to him would be

relinquished and restored to the donor should the abbot leave the monastery, die or become a layperson.
The agreement is signed by both
parties the donor and recipient
and six witnesses.
At the June 26 press conference, U
Khemacara said the agreement quoted by U Tin Hlaing is not the original,
and bears a different date.
Shwe Nya War Sayadaw U Pannasiha, a supporter of U Khemacara,
said at the press conference that the
high-level authorities dont know the
real situation.
They just sit around a table and
decide without going to the scene, he
said.
U Sein Maw, director of the Yangon Region Department of Religious
Affairs, told The Myanmar Times
yesterday that the monks will not be
forced to leave Rathedaung Monastery, but the dispute will be settled in
the courts. We wont force the monks
out, but if they defy the ruling of the
court, we will take action under the
law, he said. Translation by Khant
Lin Oo and Thiri Min Htun

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views

Four interests in amending constitution

SITHU AUNG
MYINT

newsroom@mmtimes.com

E saw last week the

culmination of the
first round of parliamentary discussion
on the constitution, in
which attempts to introduce limited
amendments failed to win the necessary majority. Today begins the potentially more important second round,
with far more at stake. However, an
analysis of the alignment of powers in
parliament suggests that not much is
likely to change.
MPs can be divided into four main
factions, each with a different shopping list of constitutional amendments. First we take the opposition
National League for Democracy,
which wants the most sweeping
changes. They would radically change

sections 59, 60, 261 and 436. These

bear upon, respectively, the eligibility of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to
become president, the allocation to
the military of 25 percent of the votes
in the election of the president, the
right of the president to nominate
the chief ministers of the states and
regions, and the automatic allocation
of 25pc of the seats in parliament to
the military.
None of these matters will be
debated in parliament today.
That is because the bill now before
parliament was drafted entirely by
Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe
Mann and reflects the preferences of
the Speaker and his supporters.
This faction wants to amend sections 59(f), 60 and 436, but not very
much. They support the proposition that the president and the vice
president should be elected members
of parliament. They also favour giving
more rights to ethnic minorities and
reducing the powers of the president.
President U Thein Sein, needless
to say, wishes to retain his powers. He
and his supporters want to increase
ethnic rights, but to leave the rest of
the constitution as it is. The ethnic
parties, for their part, favour a federal
Union in which ethnic minorities

would receive their rights in full.

The conflicting views of these
four rough groupings have been well
aired for some years now in hluttaworganised committees such as the
Constitutional Review Committee
and the Constitutional Amendment
Implementation Committee, as well
as in the media. But the bill before
parliament today was not drafted to
take into account any of those views,
but solely the views of Thura U Shwe
Manns faction of the USDP.
Debate will be restricted to the
content of the bill before the house
that is, members will not be able to
discuss, let alone vote on, proposed
amendments that are not contained
in the bill.
As Speaker, Thura U Shwe Mann
will decide how many MPs from which
party can debate, and which voting
procedure will be used: electronic
voting, stand-up voting or, as was done
last week, written secret ballot.
Of the 33 MPs the USDP proposed to take part in the debate, the
Speaker allowed only 11 to speak. But
he allowed all 26 of the MPs the NLD
proposed for the debate, possibly to
make up for the fact that none of the
changes the NLD wants are contained
in the bill.

Only three military MPs will take

part in the debate, but it may be
assumed that the military will cast
their votes for whatever position the
military supports, irrespective of the
rhetoric in the chamber. Tatmadaw
Commander-in-Chief Senior General
Min Aung Hlaing made his opinion
clear in a June 9 interview with the
Japanese newspaper The Mainichi. It
seems that he doesnt want to amend
sections 59(f) and 436.
The military representatives in the
hluttaw will therefore vote accordingly,

The bill now before

parliament was
drafted entirely by
Hluttaw Speaker
Thura U Shwe
Mann and reflects
the preferences of
the Speaker and his
supporters.

making it certain that the changes

desired by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
the NLD, particularly to sections 59(f),
60(e) and 436, will not pass.
Much more likely is some movement on expanding states rights,
entailing amendments to Schedule 1
and 2 of the 2008 constitution. Any
parliamentary vote in favour of any of
these sections would have to be subsequently endorsed by a referendum.
That leaves the question of the
selection of the chief ministers of the
states and regions, who are at present
chosen by the president. Thura U
Shwe Manns faction of the USDP
believes the chief minister should be
elected by the state or regional hluttaw concerned but, as they have made
clear through the state-owned media,
the presidential faction objects to
this change on the grounds that the
involvement of local parliaments
would infringe on the principle of
the separation of powers between the
executive and legislative estates.
All in all, the hluttaw debate that
will take place over the next day or so
on the constitutional amendment bill
is not likely to change anything in the
constitution, apart from giving some
more rights to the states.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Survey reveals fears

over discussing
national identity
CHERRY THEIN
t.cherry6@gmail.com

HE news in Myanmar is
filled with stories about
peace and conflict, national identity and the slow,
bumpy road to democracy.
Widely reported discussions on
these subjects often occur in the rarified air of the parliament building in
Nay Pyi Taw or the Myanmar Peace
Center in Yangon, but what do everyday people think about these topics?
About 50 young people gathered in
Tarmwe, Mingalar Taung Nyunt and
Insein townships on June 22 and 23
to find out, visiting houses, businesses
and major intersections to speak
with people of different religions and
ethnicities.
It was the second phase of the
groups campaign conducted under
the slogan One People, One Nation
to listen to peoples views about
conflict, national identity and political participation.
One member of the youth group,
Ko Jack, said that gathering public
comments on these topics was very
challenging.
He said one-half of the people
contacted were hesitant to answer all
of the questions. Most said they welcomed the home visits even if they refused to take part in some aspects of
the discussion, but a few homeowners
shooed the visitors away without
speaking about anything at all.
Most residents welcomed the
opening question of whether they
were proud to be Myanmar, but many
hesitated to answer other questions,
which included: Do you feel neglected
by the government? Do you feel that
you have been able to participate in
the countrys transitional processes
and policy decisions? Do you feel that
every citizen has equal rights? Do you
have friends of ethnic backgrounds

different from your own? What is

your opinion about the future of
Myanmar?
Ko Jack said that out of 50 people
he interviewed, only three answered
all of the questions.
I felt that the people I spoke with
had many opinions of their own but
they were afraid to explore them.
They preferred to give simple yes or
no answers, he said.
Our country is opening up, but it
needs to become even more open before people are comfortable expressing their own ideas and feelings.
Despite the reticence of the interviewees, he said he felt the survey was
a success for a first-time effort.
Another member of the youth
group, Ma Theint Wah Wah Htwe, said
the survey reflected her own past experiences as a victim of discrimination.
People are more confident speaking about their citizenship if they
belong to the majority group in a
certain region, whether that majority
is Myanmar or another ethnic group,
she said.
I am Myanmar but my hometown is in Mon State. I faced much
discrimination during my school
years because there were only a few
of us Myanmar in class. The dominant majority in a particular place
can discriminate against the minority
regardless of who the majority and
minority might be.
Ma Theint Wah Wah Htwe said
she felt satisfied contributing to the
survey campaign, which she saw as a
learning experience that would help
her and the other participants build
their capacity for involvement in
future events.
It is not a qualitative survey, but
I hope it prompts people to reflect
on their attitudes and values about
national identity and citizenship, she
said.
Survey interviewees contacted

A member of the One People, One Nation survey team (right) speaks with a shopkeeper in Insein township, Yangon, on
June 23. Photo: Zarni Phyo

by The Myanmar Times confirmed

the impressions of the youth group.
Some admitted that it was easy to
profess pride in their Myanmar
nationality, but the other questions invoked fears based on past
experiences with limited freedom of
expression.

Our country is
opening up, but it
needs to become
even more open
before people
are comfortable
expressing their own
ideas and feelings.
Ko Jack
Centre for Youth and Social Harmony

It is our culture to welcome visitors but hard to answer some of their

questions because they are related to
the political situation. We have big
concerns for our country but were
afraid to comment, said one resident
in Insein township.
Its better not to get involved in
politics despite our love for our country. We just want to earn our living
peacefully.
Another interviewee said he appreciated the efforts of the young
people to gather information from the
populace, but added that they should
not expect much from the answers.
The survey shouldnt focus on
specific questions, but should instead
open space for free thoughts, he said.
I think both the questioners and
the answerers faced challenges overcoming the fact that they were speaking with strangers who were meeting
for the first time. For me, I have many
thoughts on these subjects, but how
could I know whether to trust the
kids who were asking the questions?
Ko Thet Swe Win director of
the Centre for Youth and Social

Harmony, which organised the survey told The Myanmar Times that
the program was aimed at getting
people thinking about conflict and
national identity.
We have valuable feedback from
the multi-day survey, which will help
us plan similar surveys in other parts
of the country. I hope it was a good
experience for both the young surveyors and the public, he said.
The program is based on the
principle that all the countrys ethnic
groups are heading toward the same
destination. Its impossible to exclude
minorities or to complain that they
have different identities. This will
only delay the development of the
nation.
The program is the result of workshops on youth participation in the
peace process hosted last year by the
Centre for Youth and Social Harmony.
Similar survey campaigns will be
held next month in Mandalay and
Hpa-an, after which the participants
will hold an evaluation to prepare
for a nationwide expansion of the
campaign later this year.

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

Business
Carlsberg head taps into local market
Stuart
alan
Becker
stuart.becker@gmail.com

CARLSBERG aims to make a splash

in the Myanmar beer market with its
new US$50 million brewery in Bago
Region commissioned in March and
launched in early May.
The market is currently dominated by Myanmar Beer, a SingaporeMyanmar joint venture, but Carlsberg Myanmar head Anthony Clark
said Carlsberg aims to win by taste
and understanding the needs of consumers.
The first thing to win in this
market is to have great-tasting beer
and you have to have brands that are
relevant to customers, he said.
The Bago facility is already producing Tuborg and Yoma for the
domestic market. Mr Clark said it
plans to launch the groups premium
brand, Carlsberg, in September.
The brewery is 51 percent owned
by the Danish firm Carlsberg, with
Myanmar Golden Star holding the
remaining share. Myanmar Golden
Star is owned by local tycoon U
Thein Tun, who also owns Myanmar
Consolidated Media, the parent company of The Myanmar Times.
Carlsberg is the fourth-largest
brewery group in the world with
$9.5 billion in revenues in 2014. It
has operations around the world,
including in China, Russia, Europe,
North America and Africa.
Mr Clark has been with the brewery since November of last year. He
said his recipe for success has been
dont stand still.

People wait for the bus on Bogyoke Aung San Street in front of a Yoma beer advertisement in Yangon yesterday. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

What I like about Carlsberg is its

all about celebration and great moments. Going out, having beer with
friends is something Ive always enjoyed doing and now Im part of the

Carlsberg Myanmar CEO Anthony Clark. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

company that brings that enjoyment

to so many people.
While the Carlsberg brand is set
to launch later this year, it has two
brands Tuborg and Yoma already
on store shelves. The two were the
subject of considerable market research before they were launched.
We have crafted Yoma as a
unique beer that meets local beer
preferences, he said, describing
Yoma as a perfectly balanced beer
made with fine Bago rice.
Yoma which means mountain
range in Myanmar language is a
beer that is unique to the local market, while Tuborg and Carlsberg are
both international brands.
Our consumers and customers
are at the heart of every decision we
make, Mr Clark said.
Theres a lot of work to do with
the brands weve launched and you
have to satisfy the needs of the channels and the outlets and you need to
understand the draft beer environment to be successful in winning.
Mr Clark credits Bago Region

chief minister U Nyan Win with

support for the brewery investment
and the positive impact it has on
local employment.
The local government bodies
have bent over backward to support
us and chief minister U Nyan Win
has a vision to improve the quality of
life for people, he said.
With 150 employees, 60 of whom
work in Myanmar Carlsbergs office
in downtown Yangon, the group is
gearing up with sales, marketing and
technical teams. Much of the focus
is on draught beer, which Mr Clark
says accounts for 50pc of beer sales.
Mr Clark previously worked out
of Singapore with American company Lexmark, and then food firm
Heinz in Jakarta. The Heinz experience in Indonesia was his first working at the front lines of a fast-moving
consumer goods operation.
I learned how important it was
to be in tune with your consumers
and your channels, he said.
Myanmar Carlsberg has some
great people too, and as we grow we

aim to pull together a really strong

and capable team here in Myanmar.
At Heinz, Mr Clark had 200
employees in his department and
changed the landscape by bringing
in more technology and standard
practices.
Similar to companies here in
Myanmar, you would find a lack of
automation and a mass of people doing routine jobs because of a lack of
technology being applied in the business. Being able to modernise that
business was hugely rewarding and
challenging, he said.
Still, Myanmar presents a new
range of opportunities for Mr Clarks
Carlsberg.
Myanmar is like nothing Ive
ever experienced before, he said.
Even in the short time Ive been
here there has been an amazing
amount of change and I can only
see that progressing. That provides
everybody an enormous amount of
opportunity, including Carlsberg,
and thats what we hope to take advantage of.

Thai companies plan offshore LNG facility in Myanmar

Aung Shin
koshumgtha@gmail.com
THAILANDS state-owned PTT is going to invest in a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) terminal project in Myanmar, according to a Reuters report.
PTT signed a contract with Thailands largest private power producer Ratchaburi Electricity Generating
to develop a US$400 million Floating Storage and Regasification Unit
in Myanmar, capable of storing 3
million tonnes in the first phase, the
report said, citing Ratchaburi chief

executive Pongdith Potchana.

The plans follow a memorandum
of understanding between Myanmar and Thailand signed on June
15, aiming to enhance energy and
electric power ties between the two
countries.
Officials said after the deal that
LNG is one of the items being discussed by the two countries.
Officials said Myanmar is considering importing LNG in the medium
term due to growing energy demand,
largely to fuel electricity generation.
While Myanmar is presently a large-

600
Factor by which natural gas compresses
at -160 degrees Celsius

scale gas exporter, it has long-term

contracts with China and Myanmar
which means much of its production
must be exported.
U Min Min Oo, a director from
the Ministry of Energy, said previously that natural gas production is
declining in the existing fields, and
the untapped blocks will take time
to come online. It is likely the LNG
will be used to meet rising energy
demand, he said.
LNG is natural gas that is cooled
to a temperature of about -160 degrees Celsius, at which point it con-

tracts by a factor of about 600, making it much easier to transport by

ship.
Myanmars priority is now on using new discoveries for the domestic
market first rather than for export,
though in the future LNG could also
be exported rather than imported.
PTT aims to import natural
gas from Myanmar with the LNG
project. The Reuters report said
about 70pc of Thailands electricity
is generated from natural gas, of
which about 20pc is from Myanmar
gas fields.

Business editor: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

thai carriers avoid eu

blacklisting but not out
of the woods yet

Global markets plunge

as Greece on the brink
of default

BuSineSS 10

BuSineSS 12

Exchange Rates (June 29 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying
K1213
K293
K813
K32.7
K1116

Selling
K1233
K304
K827
K34
K1119

Importers complain of car parts

gone missing at Yangon ports
aye
nyein
win
ayenyeinwin.mcm@gmail.com

STICKY fingers are lifting spare parts

from imported vehicles at the ports,
according to vehicle traders.
Importers are calling on customs
officials to strictly supervise vehicles
as they are brought into the country,
ending the spare parts slippage.
I imported a car and the spare
electronic keys disappeared, said
Mandalay car dealer Ko Ayay Kyo. The
keys are expensive, costing K50,000 to
replace.
He said his experience is not
unique, adding a market in Tarmwe
township specialises in selling items
that disappeared during import.
If importers leave their cars at the
port for a long time, it is sure they will
lose something, he said.
Importers say their losses are
relatively minor usually between
K50,000 and K150,000 per vehicle.
Accessories such as spare keys, gear
shifts and cushions are the most likely
to go missing.
Authorities have worked to end
the problem, installing CCTV cameras
to monitor the vehicles and holding
meetings in 2013 to address the issue. Several customs officials declined

to comment or could not be reached

yesterday.
Workers from private companies
drive the cards from the ships to the
parking areas, and are outside the direct control of customers, said Ko Min
Min Maung from Wun Yan Kha car
sales centre.
I dont want to accuse them, but
we cant see if they take some accessories from our cars, he said. Some
accessories are small and easy to hide.
The customs department should supervise the cars from when they leave
the ship. It can do nothing if they keep
records after the cars reach the yard.
On some occasions, the vehicles
pick up dings from careless driving.
Then the cars are generally defined as
having been in an accident.
Ko Min Min Maung said he has
experienced one car being destroyed
because of a driver.
The driver admitted what he did
and wrote a letter. But the customs department defined the car as crushed.
At the time, we tried to explain it was
not a crushed car, he said. It was a
very bad experience.
Importers can easily tell parts are
missing, as the cars are generally imported from Japan. The exporters are
usually assiduous in recording what
parts are included when the cars leave
Japanese docks, leaving importers to
decide which parts are missing when
the vehicles arrive in Myanmar.
U Aye Htun, managing director

of Nissan Myanmar, said if cars lose

parts, the person responsible is likely
from Myanmar. If the parts are missing from the Japanese end, they can
usually complain and have the problem fixed.
Importers without parts often have
to turn to the market to buy what is
missing. However, prices on local markets are often more expensive than the

original costs from overseas.

If a spare key costs K50,000, we
need to pay K70,000 or K90,000 at the
market, said U Min Maung.
Sometimes we cant find the piece
we need anywhere, and the original is
gone.
U Min Min Maung said taking
parts can be a lucrative business.
If someone can steal 10 parts a day

from importing cars, they can generate K400,000 or K500,000 a day in

income. Importer Ko Aung Naing Thu
said two weeks ago that it seems unfair that importers pay taxes on cars,
but do not receive the whole vehicles.
The authorities should solve this
problem, he said.
I think thieves are doing this
intentionally.

Officials check recently imported vehicles at a Yangon port. Photo: Staff

SMALL BUSINESS

Tour companies are travelling down a changing road

MyAt noe oo
myatnoe.mcm@gmail.com
LOCAL travel and tour companies
have generally kept domestic market
share even as the traditional business

model of booking agents faces upheaval in much of the rest of the world.
Yet improvements to Myanmar
telecommunications and a subsequent rise in online holiday bookings means the local business model

is changing, squeezing some companies margins.

Travel and tourism businesspeople said foreigners in particular are
not keen on tours and often prefer to
travel individually, booking their own

Tourists are increasingly keen to chart their own paths, causing trouble for tourism companies. Photo: Yu Yu

holidays through the Web rather than

relying on local agents.
These websites usually foreignowned are undercutting local companies, often able to offer discounts
below what the local operators can
provide. Foreigners also generally prefer websites, as they may have booked
through them before, said Ko Mo
Lwin, managing director at Peak Point
Travel and Tour Company.
There is a big problem with the
price for accommodations and transportation, he said. We cannot cooperate with hotels. Hotels give more
discounts for foreign companies than
local tour companies, because they
bring in more companies. Sometimes
the price difference is 40 percent.
Ko Mo Lwin said the Web-based
foreign travel agents also have namebrand recognition and have built up
trust by handling bookings in other
countries.
Tourists also often travel to Myanmar via other countries, such as India
and Thailand. Ko Mo Lwin said tourists often become acclimatised to the
cheaper prices in these countries, and
are surprised to find Myanmar is more
expensive for things such as hotel
rooms.
Tourists visit as part of a trip to a
place like Thailand, he said. Accommodation costs and other fees in Myanmar are closer to expensive countries like Japan.
Some tourists save money and
travel for an entire year. But I dont

think they can do this and visit Myanmar, he said.

Travel and tourism companies
faced something of a rush as the country opened. Many of the international
companies did not have the links with
local businesses that they now do.
At the time, travel and tourism
business was good. But now the situation is different, he said.
Myanmar is a more expensive
place to visit than other destinations
in Asia, according to Ko Aung Soe
Thu, a customer care official with
Asia Travel and Leisure Company.
Other countries like Thailand and Vietnam have cheap food and inexpensive hotels and transportation.
Tourists coming to Myanmar
quickly find out that local prices are
higher than many neighbours.
Here, the price of hotels, property,
food are all expensive. So now tourists
try to make their money last as long as
they can. They book from online websites and travel individually, he said.
Other foreigners dont have a
5-star model in mind. They stay at
cheaper places like hostels. Some
guests want hotels that are only $25 a
day, said Ko Aung Soe Thu.
Ko Mo Lwin added that newcomers
to the travel and tours business face
challenges.
Some of the local tour companies
have operated for a long time, and
have popular names. The tour providers do not have problems, but the new
starters will have trouble.

10 International Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

Bangkok

Thai carriers in
turbulence despite
dodging EU ban
THE exclusion of Thai-registered
carriers in the updated list of airlines that are subject to operating
bans or restrictions within the EU
is nothing to rejoice about.
The omission of Thai airlines in
the European Commissions June
25 release of the EU Air Safety List
should not be interpreted as an international lack of concern for the
countrys aviation safety lapse, according to experts.
Thailand remains on the EUs
watch list for a possible ban after
significant safety concerns, or
SSCs, emerged from a February audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
We are not out of the woods
yet despite the EU not listing us, a
Thai airline executive with knowledge of the issue told the Bangkok
Post.
The EU may see little need for
dealing a double whammy to Thailand because only one Thai airline,
Thai Airways International, operates regular flights to the EU. THAI
has so far survived inspections for
safety and airworthiness carried
out by the European Aviation Safety
Agency, an EU body.
Because neither THAI nor any
other Thai-registered airline has
applied for rights to operate new
flights to the EU, Thailands status
was less relevant when the EU Air
Safety Committee met earlier this
month to update its ban list.
The EU tends to follow ICAO
guidelines associated with SSCs,
which have discouraged some
states from issuing permits for Thai
airlines to launch new flights or to
switch aircraft types from those approved before the SSCs were raised.
Japan, South Korea and China
were the first to impose such restrictions after March 29, when the
ICAO issued the SSCs and put Thai
airlines permissible flights under
closer scrutiny.
THAIs international network,
which includes 12 European cities, has been subject to more frequent inspections at the relevant
airports, particularly in relation to
documents and records for aircraft
maintenance and crew training.
According to THAI president
Charamporn Jotikasthira, ramp
checks of the airlines aircraft and
crew have soared to 50 a month
from no more than three during
normal times.
The exclusion of Thai-registered
airlines from the EUs revised ban
list has eased some pressure on
Thailand, whose image was worsened by the ICAOs June 18 move
to red-flag the country after the
Department of Civil Aviation (DCA)
failed to meet a 90-day deadline for
corrective action.
That put Thailand in the spotlight

over its shortcomings, joining the

likes of Botswana, Haiti and Angola
on the red-flag list out of 187 nations
whose aviation standards have been
audited.
The ICAO had given Thailand a
yellow card after the countrys poor
performance on the February audit.
Unlike the ICAO findings in relation to the DCA, the EU investigation is into Thai carriers rather
than the regulator itself.
The EUs findings are of utmost
benefit to THAI, as the economic
consequences of an EU blacklisting would have been severe, says
Alan Polivnick of the international
law firm Watson Farley & Williams
(Thailand) Ltd.
According to an industry executive, THAIs European routes contribute about one-fourth of the airlines revenue, which stood at 204
billion baht (US$6 billion) last year.
Mr Charamporn says THAIs
exclusion from the EUs ban list
means the airline will continue to
operate scheduled flights to 12 European cities: London, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Brussels, Madrid,
Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Zurich, Milan and Rome.

We are not out

of the woods yet
despite the EU not
listing us.
Thai airline executive

THAI has prepared a business

continuity plan in all areas in case
of a major operational disruption
a reference to critical EU action.
The next hurdle for Thailand is a
July 13 to 19 audit by the US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA).
Given the divergence between
the ICAO and EU findings, the
outcome of the FAA audit takes
on magnified importance, Mr Polivnick says.
If the results are unsatisfactory,
the FAA could downgrade Thailand
to Category 2 and impose restrictions on THAI the only Thai-registered airline operating in the US.
The flag carrier could continue
its flights to Los Angeles but encounter prohibitions on adding
new US destinations or changing
the aircraft type used on the existing route.
Moreover, US carriers would immediately have to end code-shares
in which a Thai airline is the operating carrier, mirroring what
happened in the past with airlines
based in the Philippines and South
Korea. Bangkok Post

In PICTURes

Photo: AFP

A man watches electronic display boards as he monitors stock

movements at the Malaysia Stock Exchange in Kuala Lumpur
yesterday. Asian equities and the euro tumbled on June 29 on
fears Greece will crash out of the eurozone after Athens called
off debt reform talks and announced a referendum on creditors
proposals next weekend.

Phnom Penh

Anti-corruption guidebook
comes up short in Cambodia
CAMBODIAS Anti-Corruption Unit
launched a guidebook for businesses last week to create internal
systems to prevent corrupt practices, but certain stakeholders say
it doesnt detail how to create these
systems or even address systemic or
bureaucratic corruption.
The new guidebook, which the
Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) created in collaboration with the private sector, focuses on identifying
possible avenues of corruption and
creating internal systems to prevent
corrupt acts, but does not give any
specific details on how to achieve
this, save a few case studies.
With risk assessment, the book
suggests interviewing employees to
pinpoint where they may be tempted to indulge in, or asked by government officials to conduct corrupt
practices.
After this assessment, the book
suggests the creation of a public anticorruption policy and an environment
of dialogue with employees to maintain compliance.
The guidebook gives enough information about what corruption is,
but it does not mention how businesses can protect themselves from
getting involved in corruption, said

Te Taing Por, president of the Federation of Associations for Small and

Medium Enterprises of Cambodia.
Mr Taing Por said asking businesses to adopt regulatory systems
to tackle corruption was only half
the issue, as corruption in the bureaucracy also needed to be addressed by the ACU.
The government should continue to simplify and cut down
bureaucracy in public institutions,
for example business registration
or export procedure, so small and
medium enterprises can easily process the work without having to pay
bribes, he added.
While the guidebook does list out
the challenges for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) it does not
spell out specific processes for them
to follow.
SMEs in Cambodia have very limited capacity and knowledge regarding regulations, taxing and accounting systems, said Mr Taing Por.
Preap Kol, executive director of
Transparency International Cambodia (TI), said SMEs need to learn to
play by the rules and adopt new processes in a changing environment
including the impending ASEAN
Economic Community integration.

Small and medium businesses

should start to do business with
transparency and adapt to clean
business as Cambodia is joining
with ASEAN economic integration
soon.
They should start learning
about regulations and standards
now. They cannot stay traditional,
Mr Kol said.
The guidebook starts off with a
message from Prime Minister Hun
Sen, who calls on big and small businesses to exhibit a level of commitment and collective effort to create
a compliant business framework.
Such participation is nothing but conducting business with
fundamental business values and
ethics, including transparency, accountability, respect for level playing field, social responsibility and
law and regulation compliance, the
message read.
The ACU has also been working with private companies to sign
memorandums of understanding
and at last count had around 10
companies pledging not to tolerate
unofficial business practices, including Coca-Cola, garment manufacturer Pactics and rice miller Loran Group. The Phnom Penh Post

Bangkok

PTTs retail unit eyes expanding through Asian markets

THAILANDS national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plcs oil retail unit is
allocating 10 billion baht (US$295 million) of capital expenditure (capex) to
renovate and expand the business over
the next five years.
Buranin Rattanasombat, the oil
business units executive vice president,
said the expansion was meant to pave
the way for the company to be one of
Asias top oil retailers.

Most of the budget would be for

expanding petrol station development
in the local market and neighbouring
countries, with a lesser amount set
aside for the preparation of new nonoil business.
The expansion abroad covers new
development of petrol stations as well
as non-oil business stations.
The plan includes increasing petrol
stations in Laos to 62 from 24, lifting

stations in Cambodia to 65 from 20,

and expanding stations in the Philippines to 150 from 85.
PTT is also awaiting openings in the
oil retail business in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan and South Korea.
For the local market, the budget
will go for petrol station relocation and
renovation. As the economy sags and
oil prices decline we are looking to revamp our internal business in order to

improve services and products. That

way when the economy rebounds we
will be ready, said Mr Buranin.
Some of the capex will be set aside
for the development of trading with
digital equipment and telecom gadgets.
PTT is in talks with telecom companies
and banks to develop a digital business
through the companys existing Blue
Card, a mileage oil service card, he said.
We have more than 1 million Blue

Card holders and in the future we will

turn the card into another financial
tool to serve non-oil service, said Mr
Buranin.
The company plans to renovate
its Cafe Amazon coffee shops during
the second half before selling to franchisees in other Asian countries. He
said several foreign investors and tourists are interested in buying into the
franchise. Bangkok Post

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
Hong Kong

Roller
coaster for
Chinese
markets
CHINESE shares tumbled yesterday after a rollercoaster ride, extending losses of the past two weeks, while Hong
Kong also sank on expectations Greece
will default on its debt and possibly
crash out of the eurozone.
The losses came despite a surprise
interest rate cut by the central Peoples
Bank of China at the weekend that analysts said was a response to the painful
sell-off in mainland equities.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dived 3.34 percent, or 139.84
points, to 4053.03 on turnover of 904.2
billion yuan (US$147.8 billion).
The index moved in a 10pc range
over the day, rising 2.5pc in early trade
before at one point losing as much as
7.58pc. And analysts warned of further
volatility.
The Shenzhen Composite Index
plummeted 6.06pc, or 151.56 points,
to 2351.40 on turnover of 631.2 billion
yuan.
Hong Kongs benchmark Hang Seng
Index fell 696.89 points or 2.61pc to
25,966.98 on turnover of HK$186.13
billion ($24.02 billion), with the mainland losses adding to selling pressure in
the city.
The slump put Shanghai into bear
territory alongside Shenzhen, with the
main market down 21.5pc from its peak
on June 12.
Youd think you wouldnt see this
volatility in such a large equity benchmark, Ankur Patel, chief investment
officer at US-based R-Squared Macro
Management, told Bloomberg News.
The flows in and out have been so
substantial and its been driven by retail investors. Those are the same characteristics you see in penny stocks.
The correction will probably last
longer, Haitong Securities analyst
Zhang Qi said, adding it had not been
long enough so far.
When Shanghai peaked on June
12 it had risen more than 150pc in 12
months, partly fuelled by margin trading in which investors borrow cash to
invest in stocks.
Analysts say the falls were mainly
triggered by new restrictions on margin trading and accelerated by concern
stocks were overvalued. On June 27,
Chinas central bank cut interest rates
0.25pc and reduced the amount of cash
some banks must keep in reserve.
But the move did not arrest the selloff. We have to bear in mind that the
interest rate cut is the fourth in eight
months, so the perceived implication of
a rate cut on equity markets may have
waned, said Bernard Aw, a Singaporebased strategist at IG Asia.
Regulators were considering suspending initial public offerings to
stabilise markets, Bloomberg News
quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.
Both Chinese exchanges opened
higher on yesterday but then the downward momentum resumed, followed by
a recovery in mid-afternoon, and then
another drop.
Yesterdays official China Securities Journal carried a speech by the
papers party secretary and editor-inchief Wu Jincai which claimed mainland markets are set to enjoy a golden
time that will last for more than three
decades. Hong Kong tracked a global
retreat fuelled by Greeces decision to
pull out of debt reform talks and call a
referendum for July 5 on its creditors
proposals.
The shock announcement at the
weekend came after five months of
failed negotiations, with Athens unwilling to yield to demands for more austerity in order to release much-needed
cash. AFP

JAKARTA

Indos realistic tourism plan

INDONESIA will focus on Bali and
islands near Singapore rather than
developing more remote spots in the
worlds largest archipelago, as it seeks
to double tourist numbers by 2020.
The governments marketing
budget has been increased fourfold
to 1 trillion rupiah ($75 million) this
year, a sign of President Joko Widodos
commitment to the industry, tourism
minister Arief Yahya said in an interview last week. That money will be
spent promoting Bali, Jakarta and the
islands of Batam and Bintan close to
Singapore, which generate about 90
percent of the countrys revenue from
international tourists, he said.
We cannot promote every destination in Indonesia as its very expensive, Mr Yahya said in Jakarta. Our
strategy is that tourism development
follows infrastructure development.
An archipelago of 17,000 islands
that would stretch from Alaska to
New York, Indonesia attracted less
than half the international tourists
than its smaller neighbors Malaysia
and Thailand did last year. As growth
in Southeast Asias largest economy
slows to the weakest in more than
five years and the government lags
its revenue targets, the president has
pledged to double arrivals in his fiveyear term.
Indonesia this month granted

Tourists catch some rays in Bali. Photo: AFP

visa-free entrance to citizens of 30

countries including the US, China
and Germany.
On Bali, known for its surf, Hindu
culture and rice paddy landscapes, the
aim is to spread tourism development
more widely as it is concentrated in
the south near the main city Denpasar, said Mr Yahya. The government
is pushing ahead with plans to build

a two-runway international airport at

Singaraja in northern Bali and a toll
road from Denpasar to Gilimanuk in
the west of the island, he said.
Indonesia attracted 9.4 million
international tourists last year, compared with Thailands 24.8 million and
Malaysias 27.4 million, government
data show. These countries made tourism a leading industry years ago, Mr

Yahya said. In Indonesia this has just

been decided now, he said.
Its a sensible approach to spend
money on places that are already attracting guests, because many parts
of Indonesia lack infrastructure, said
Matt Gebbie, a Jakarta-based director
at Horwath HTL, a hotel development
consultancy.
Youd have to spend a lot more
to create a new destination, he said.
Theres no point promoting Raja
Ampat when no one can get there,
he said, referring to islands in eastern
Indonesia renowned for marine life.
Catching up with its neighbours
would also attract funds to help the
country narrow a shortfall in its current account that has weighed on the
rupiah. If Indonesia was to match
Thailand in terms of receipts from
tourism, its current-account deficit
would be a problem of the past, Ndiame Diop, the World Banks lead economist for Indonesia, said in a presentation in Jakarta earlier this year.
The rupiah, which has fallen 28pc
against the dollar over the last three
years, should make Indonesia a more
attractive destination. Indonesia
came third out of 141 economies for
price competitiveness in the World
Economic Forums Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Index 2015.
Bloomberg

12
Athens

Greeces financial crisis

2010

After years of overspending,

Greeces public debt
rises to 350 billion euros

2011

The IMF and EU lend Athens 110 billion euros

to help the government pay its creditors in return
for painful austerity measures (spending cuts,
wage cuts, tax rises and pension reforms)

Violent protests over the austerity measures.

The government collapses.

2012

The EU says it will

lend another 130
billion euros.
Greeces private-sector
lenders agree to wipe
off half the debt owed
to them, cutting
Athens debt bill
by 100 billion euros

2015

Jan 25

Anti-austerity party
Syriza wins the general
election, with a pledge to
renegotiate the aid terms.
Since 2010 GDP has fallen by 25%, salaries
by even more and 28% of workers are jobless

Feb 20 The bailout is extended until

June 30. Athens agrees to come
up with alternative reform
proposals in return for the final
7.2 billion euros in rescue funds
June 17

After months of fruitless talks on reforms,

Greece warns it may have to leave the eurozone
and even the EU

27 Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls for a referendum

on the latest EU-IMF rescue proposals. The EU
refuses to extend its bailout beyond June 30.
Greek bank customers rush to withdraw cash
Greece shuts banks until July 6 and imposes
29 capital controls, after customers rush to withdraw
cash. The Athens stock market is closed.
Stocks tumble worldwide.
June 30

Deadline for Athens to repay 1.5 billion euros

to the IMF or face default

Panic simmers as Greeks

wake up without money
IT has already been dubbed Black
Monday jittery housewives, shoppers and business owners queued
in vain at cash machines in Athens,
where the country awoke to capital
controls and shuttered banks.
I have a baby to feed. What am I
supposed to do? secretary Zoe Kallis,
32, said after failing to get money out
of the third ATM she had tried in the
wealthy Kolonaki district.
For a country used to dealing largely in cash rather than credit cards,
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras decision
to close banks for seven days and limit
withdrawals has unnerved Greeks.
The measure is expected to hurt:
Cash in hand is more likely to be
stashed under mattresses rather than
splashed on new clothes, restaurants
or the wages of those working in the
vast black economy.
Cafe tables were laid out in the
sun all over the city, but owner Nikos
Gyallitsis said he expected a 50 percent drop in customers, with people
keeping their money for essentials like
food and petrol.
To shop you have to be happy, be
confident, and now you dont know
what will happen the next day, he said.
Nearby, clothes shop owner Panayotis Vergetis said he was slashing
30pc off his wares this week in a bid

to lure people in.

Today could not only see Athens
default the governments coffers are
bare even though it must make a 1.6
billion euro (US$1.77 billion) payment
to the International Monetary Fund
but it is also supposed to be pay-day
for many.
Im afraid Im going to lose my
job, to be broke, said Sofia Chronopoulos, who works in a fabric shop.
The banks are closed, the boss has no
money, there are bills to pay, she said.
While cash withdrawals are officially limited to 60 euros a day, many
Greeks said they had tried and failed
to get any money out at all.
A panicked-looking Chris Bakas, 28
and unemployed, was sweating as he
stared at the ATM screen.
No money, no hope how did
we get in this situation? This is Black
Monday, he said.
Others said it was all being made
worse by a pack-like fear, urging fellow Greeks to keep their heads.
On the citys historic Syntagma
square, the scene of fierce riots in
the past over biting austerity measures imposed by the countrys international creditors, tourists snapping photographs of the parliament
buildings said they felt the tension
in the air. AFP

Athens

Markets plunge as Greece shuts banks

MARKETS across the world tumbled
yesterday as Greece ordered its banks
to shut for a week and imposed capital controls after its citizens emptied
ATMs.
But in a narrow ray of hope, creditors left the door open to Greece for a
last-ditch debt deal, in order to try and
avert a potentially calamitous default
that could spark a Greek eurozone exit
and raise serious questions about the
future of the European Union.
Global stocks slumped, with Frankfurt and Paris losing more than 4 percent after an earlier collapse in Asia as
investors feared a Greek euro exit.
The Greek government issued a decree to close banks until July 6 the
day after a referendum on creditors
bailout proposals with a 60 euro
(US$65) limit on cashpoint withdrawals. Foreign tourists, a vital engine of
the Greek economy, will be exempt.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
urged calm after ATMs across Greece
ran dry, and the Athens stock market
shutting down until July 7.
Any difficulties that may arise
must be dealt with calmness. The
more calm we are, the sooner we will
get over this situation, Mr Tsipras
said, adding Athens had again requested a prolongation of the [bailout] program.
The drastic measures designed
to protect Greeces banking system
against the threat of mass panic also
sent the European single currency
sliding.
The rapid escalation of the Greek
debt crisis came after the European
Central Bank froze the level of its
emergency lifeline for Athens on June
28, despite a growing bank run.
That capped a weekend of high
drama that began with Mr Tsiprass
unexpected call for a July 5 referendum on creditors latest reform proposals after bailout talks in Brussels
collapsed.
In reaction, eurozone finance ministers angrily rejected a request to
extend the bailout beyond its expiry

today, sparking fears could default on

a key IMF loan repayment due the
same day and potentially crash out
of the eurozone.
EU commissioner of economic affairs, Pierre Moscovici of France, declared yesterday that the door is always open to negotiations for Greece,
adding negotiators had been a few
centimetres from a deal when talks
broke down.
European Commission (EC) head
Jean-Claude Juncker was meanwhile
due to hold a press conference at 1045
GMT.
The EC one of the troika of
creditors along with the ECB and
the International Monetary Fund
said in a statement that temporary
restrictions on the free movement of
capital were justified in order to
maintain financial stability in the
crisis-hit nation.
Uncertainty over how events will
unfold in coming days prompted
crowds to form long queues outside
some ATMs in Greece, leaving many
cash machines empty.
Investors meanwhile reacted with
shock that Athens had failed thus far
to reach agreement with creditors,
with highly volatile trade expected as
Greece hurtles towards default.
With negotiations halted, the
Greek situation has rapidly moved to
the worst-case scenario and investors
who jumped to the conclusion last
week that a deal was done will be suffering significant losses this morning,
said strategist Alastair George at Edison Investment Research in London.
The Frankfurt-based ECBs governing council held a crisis telephone
conference on June 28 and left unchanged its emergency liquidity assistance keeping open its life support
for Greek banks and, by extension, the
Greek state.
But it pledged no extra cash for
banks.
The move further raised the stakes
in Greeces festering debt crisis after
five months of tough bailout talks cul-

Leftist youth hold a placard reading No more recession, out of the eurozone in front of the Greek parliament during a
demonstration calling for a NO at referendum and for Greeces exit from the eurozone on June 28. Photo: AFP

minated on June 26 with Mr Tsipras

shock call for a referendum on creditors latest cash-for-reforms offer.
Unless creditors heed Mr Tsipras
renewed request for a bailout extension, Greeces rescue plan will formally expire today. This will almost
certainly mean Greece will default on
more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) due to the IMF that same day.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said there was still time for a
compromise, urging creditors to show
goodwill.
The weekends rapid-fire events in
the Greek saga set off a flurry of diplomatic activity.
In Berlin, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel called an emergency

meeting with the heads of parliamentary groups and party leaders, while
French President Francois Hollande
will chair crisis talks with key ministers in Paris.
In Japan, top government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga said G7 finance
ministers had held consultations over
the weekend, calling the breakdown of
talks extremely regrettable.
A banking source in Greece said
only 40 percent of cash machines had
money in them on June 28.
At an Athens ATM, secretary Zoe
Kallis, 32, said, Im really frustrated.
I dont know what to expect. Im really worried the bank system is going
to collapse. I have a baby to feed, what
am I supposed to do?

Unemployed Chris Bakas, 28, was

sweating in the Athens heat as he
stood at an empty cashpoint.
No money, no hope how did
we get in this situation? This is Black
Monday, he said.
Since the night of June 26, 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion) has been
withdrawn from the Greek banking
system, according to the bank workers union.
Mr Tsipras, whose Syriza party
came to power in January on an
anti-austerity platform, has advised
voters against backing a deal he said
spelled further humiliation for a
country that has endured five years
of recession, turmoil and skyrocketing unemployment. AFP

International Business 13

www.mmtimes.com
Beijing

Framework inked for China-backed bank

COUNTRIES from five continents
formally signed up yesterday to the
China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank a potential rival to the
Washington-based World Bank as
Beijing steps up its global diplomatic
and economic role.
Australia was the first country to
sign the articles of association creating the AIIBs legal framework at a
ceremony in Beijings Great Hall of the
People, followed by 49 other founding
members.
Seven more are expected to do so
by the end of the year.
The bank will have a share capital
of US$100 billion, with $20 billion
paid in initially, the document showed.
The signing is an embodiment of
the concrete action and efforts made
by all countries in the spirit of solidarity, openness, inclusion and cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping
said after the ceremony.
Signalling Chinas central role at the
bank, he added, Now we are willing to
listen to your views and proposals.
The AIIB has been viewed by some
as a rival to the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank, and the United
States and Japan the worlds largest
and third-largest economies, respectively have notably declined to join.
Earlier this month, former Federal
Reserve chair Ben Bernanke rebuked
US lawmakers for effectively encouraging the AIIBs formation by blocking reforms giving developing nations
a greater say in the IMF.
Beijing will be by far the largest
AIIB shareholder at about 30 percent,
the articles of association posted on
the website of Chinas finance ministry
showed. India is the second-biggest at
8.4pc with Russia third on 6.5pc.
The voting structure gives smaller
members a slightly disproportionately
larger voice, and a statement accompanying the articles said China will
have 26pc of the votes.
That is not enough to give Beijing a formal veto over all the banks
decision-making, but it will still have
an outsized say and a block on some
votes which require a 75pc majority
including the choice of the banks
president, suspensions of members
and changes to the rules.
Chinas shareholding and its voting power at the establishment of the
AIIB is a natural result led by the rules
decided by all members, said Shi Yaobin, a vice finance minister, according
to the official Xinhua news agency.
China is not deliberately pursuing the veto power, he added, saying
share percentages could be diluted by

future new admissions.

Among non-Asian participants,
Germany is the largest shareholder
with 4.5pc, followed by France with
3.4pc and Brazil on 3.2pc.
The AIIB is expected to go into
operation later this year and its headquarters will be in Beijing, despite
calls from Indonesia that it be based
in Jakarta, further cementing Chinas
prominence in the institution.
But all financial terms in the agreement are in US dollars, rather than
Chinas currency, the renminbi, and
the banks working language will be
English.
Only 50 of the 57 countries that
have applied for founding membership signed up in Beijing, and the
finance ministry said the remainder
Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and Thailand have yet to ratify the necessary
agreements.
Washington sought to dissuade its
allies from taking part but European
countries including Britain, France
and Germany have rushed to sign up
as they seek to bolster ties with the
worlds second-largest economy.
There are some concerns over
transparency of the lender, which will
fund infrastructure in Asia, as well as
worries that a resurgent Beijing will
use it to push its own geopolitical and
economic interests.
The articles of association promise the bank will be guided by sound
banking principles in its operations
and ensure its operations comply with
policies addressing environmental
and social impacts.
But equally vague statements in
the past have done little to soothe
critics.
Supporters say fears over undue
Chinese influence are overblown, and
that the participation by more than 50
countries will dilute Beijings power.
The articles of association specify
that the banks president must come
from the Asian region and will serve a
maximum of two consecutive five-year
terms.
Mr Shi, a vice finance minister, said
that China will recommend a strong
and powerful candidate for the position, Xinhua reported.
In Tokyo, Japans chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said, We hope
the AIIB will play a role as a financial
institution that contributes to Asias
development while meeting standards
of international institutions, including
for its governance.
Wed like to watch it closely, including its actual operations. AFP

geneva

BIS sees low interest rates

as sign of global malaise
THE Bank of International Settlements
warned January 28 that persistently
low interest rates were symptoms of
a malaise in the global economy that
could end in entrenched instability.
The Basel-based institution, considered the central bank for central
banks, hailed that plunging oil prices
had boosted the global economy over
the past year.
But it cautioned that global debt
burdens and financial risks remained too high, while productivity and financial growth were too
low, leaving policy makers with little
room to maneuvre.
In the long term, this runs the risk
of entrenching instability and chronic
weakness, the report said.
Claudio Borio, the head of the BIS
monetary and economic department,
said the most visible symptom of
this predicament is the persistence of
ultra-low interest rates.

Interest rates have been exceptionally low for an extraordinarily

long time, he said, warning that previously unthinkable monetary policies
were being so widely used they risked
becoming the new norm.
A number of countries, including
Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden,
have in recent months introduced
negative rates, meaning investors
have to pay to lend money to these
states.
Between December 2014 and the
end of May, around US$2.0 trillion
in global long-term sovereign debt,
much of it issued by euro-area sovereigns, was trading at negative yields,
BIS said.
Key interest rates are lower now
than at the height of the financial crisis that began in 2007, it added.
Such yields are unprecedented,
said the report.
AFP

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

57 founding members of the China-led multinational lender

G8 member
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Brazil
Britain
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Israel
Italy
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Maldives

OECD member

UN Security Council
permanent member

ASEAN member

Established:
October 2014

Top contributors
China
India
Russia
Germany
South Korea
Australia
France
Indonesia
Brazil
Britain

Source : AIIB/China Finance Ministry/Governments

BRICS

Headquarters:
Beijing

Total capital: $100 billion

8.37
6.54
4.48
3.74
3.69
3.38
3.36
3.18
3.05

$29.78

EU
Malta
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
UAE
Uzbekistan
Vietnam

14 THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

World

15

World editor: Fiona MacGregor

Maoist rebel
idol killed in
Philippines

Sudans
journalists under
pressure

World 16

World 19

TAIPEI

BEIJING

Waterpark fire disaster victim dies

A 20-YEAR-OLD partygoer died yesterday after suffering 90 percent burns
from a fireball that injured nearly 500
people at a Taiwan colour party, with
organisers facing charges after plumes
of decorative powder ignited.
Victim Lee Pei-yun, 20, was pronounced dead at Taichungs Chung
Shan Hospital in central Taiwan.
Doctors pronounced Lee dead
after her mother agreed to stop the
treatment provided to her daughter,
an official at the Taichung city governments health bureau said.
She was one of hundreds of young
revellers who were engulfed in flames
after being sprayed with clouds of
multi-coloured corn starch at the
Color Play Asia event at the Formosa
Fun Coast water park, just outside the
capital Taipei, on the evening of June
27.
The company which produced the
starch said users had been warned of
a potential fire hazard.
Around 1000 spectators attended
the event, and more than 200 suffered
serious injuries and are being treated
across 43 hospitals.
The official confirmed that Ms Lee
had sustained 90 percent burns.

Media reported that Ms Lees

12-year-old brother was also hospitalised with 80 percent burns. Both were
standing close to the stage when the
fireball erupted, reports said.
Three suspects were released on
bail late on June 28 as prosecutors investigate them on charges of offences
against public safety and negligence
causing severe injuries.
They could face three years in prison for those charges, but that could be
raised to five years now that a victim
has died.
The suspects include owner of
Color Play Asia Lu Chung-chi, 41, who
knelt in apology as he was bailed late
on June 28.
Hardware equipment technician
Chiu Po-ming, 33, and special effects
worker Liao Chun-ming, 39, were also
released on bail.
Two others were released without
bail, but are currently barred from
leaving Taiwan.
While it has yet to emerge exactly
how the blast was triggered, authorities have speculated that heat from
the stage lighting or cigarettes could
have ignited the corn starch.
When asked by reporters why

IN PICTUrEs
Photo: AFP

people had been allowed to smoke at

the event, Color Play Asias Mr Lu said,
There were too many people smoking
at the scene. There was just no way to
stop it.
General manager of the water park
Chen Hui-ying said the venue had
never heard such an activity could be
dangerous.
But the company that supplied the
corn starch to Color Play Asia warned
of its flammability.
Taiwon Food Industrial Co told AFP
that Color Play Asia had purchased a
total of 3 tonnes of corn starch in four
separate deals this year.
The company said the colour powder was flammable under high temperatures, especially when its density
is high.
It added that warnings were printed on the bags of corn starch asking
users to wear goggles, warning of
flammability and banning its use in
an enclosed space.
We feel hurt for the young people.
Weve stopped selling and producing
such powder in line with the government ban, Chou Hui-fang, vice president of the company, said.
AFP

Israels seat at
the Human Right
Council remains
empty during the
presentation of
the report of the
Commission of
Inquiry on the
2014 Gaza conflict
at the United
Nations Office in
Geneva on June
29. Both Israel
and Palestinian
militants may
have committed
war crimes during
last years Gaza
war, the widely
anticipated UN
report said.

PorT El KANTAoUI

Tunisia steps up security after attack

TUNISIA said it would arm tourism
police and deploy hundreds of reinforcements as authorities moved to
boost security after a jihadist gunned
down 38 people at a seaside resort in
an attack claimed by the Islamic State
group.
The move came as it was reported
that the gunman had not acted alone.
Interior ministry spokesperson Mohamed Ali Aroui said authorities were
sure that Seifeddine Rezgui had
accomplices.
Meanwhile Britain yesterday dispatched a Boeing C17 military transport plane to Tunisia to evacuate the
wounded as the UK warned the final
count of British among the dead could
be more than 30. Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to mount
a full investigation into the June 26
attack.
The interior ministers of Britain,
France and Germany were yesterday
due to visit the seaside Riu Imperial
Marhaba Hotel south of Tunis, where
the killings took place.
The brutal attack by a lone gunman saw at least 15 Britons and one

German among those killed, and dealt

a heavy blow to the vital tourism industry.
Tourists gathered around bouquets
of flowers laid in the sand, one asking
simply, Why [did] they die?
Mr Cameron called for a fightback
against extremism in response to the
mass shooting.
In Tunis, leaders of the North African country scrambled to find ways to
bolster security.
The tourism ministry confirmed
plans to deploy 1000 armed officers
from July 1 to reinforce the tourism
police, who will now also carry guns
for the first time.
Armed officers will be deployed
inside and outside hotels, on beaches
and at tourist and archaeological sites,
the ministry said.
Authorities have also announced
plans to close 80 mosques accused of
inciting extremism.
The June 26 attack saw a Tunisian
student disguised as a tourist pull out
a Kalashnikov assault rifle hidden inside a beach umbrella and open fire on
holidaymakers at the seaside hotel.

Tourists mourn at the site of a shooting attack in front of the Riu Imperial
Marhaba Hotel in Port el Kantaoui, south of Tunis, on June 28. Photo: AFP

The shooting wounded 39 people,

six who were still in serious condition, the hotels Spanish management
said.
Malek, 16, said he saw the gunman
unleash the killing spree.
I saw the guy put his parasol down
in the sand, squatting just like anyone
would to set it up. But suddenly he
grabbed a Kalashnikov, he said.
Everyone stood up to see what
was happening, and then we saw him
shoot at the tourists, with a big smile
on his face.
Witnesses say the attack lasted
more than 40 minutes.
Interior ministry spokesperson
Mohamed Ali Aroui refused to comment on allegations that police were
slow to react.
The police arrived seven to eight
minutes after the shooting began, Mr
Aroui said, adding that he is awaiting
the results of an inquiry.
One person alone committed the
attack but others helped him for sure,
said Mr Aroui, announcing that the attackers mobile phone had been found.
The gunmans family has been interrogated by police.
Ireland said on June 28 three of its
citizens were killed, and the dead also
include a Belgian and a Portuguese.
The UK Foreign Office urged its
citizens still in Tunisia to be vigilant,
saying there was a risk of further incidents, as Britain mourned the worst
loss of life in such an attack since the
2005 London bombings.
Writing in British newspaper the
Daily Telegraph, Mr Cameron wrote,
We must be stronger at standing up
for our values of peace, democracy,
tolerance, freedom.
He called for efforts against online
propaganda by groups like Islamic
State (IS).
We must be more intolerant of
intolerance rejecting anyone whose
views condone the Islamist extremist
narrative and create the conditions for
it to flourish.
AFP

BEIrUT

IS caliphate goes on the offensive as it

enters 2nd year with expanded attacks
THE Islamic State groups caliphate entered its second year yesterday with the jihadists expanding
their territory in Syria and Iraq and
their global reach by claiming attacks in Tunisia and Kuwait.
The extremist group headed by
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced
on June 29, 2014, that it was reviving a form of Islamic government
known as the caliphate, pledging
it would remain and expand.
In the year since, the group has
gained more territory in Syria and
Iraq despite an attempted fightback
supported by a US-led coalition air
campaign.
It has also attracted a string of
affiliates in Egypt, Libya, Yemen,
Pakistan and elsewhere, and sought
to project fear on an international
scale.
Last week, the group claimed responsibility for the attack in Tunisia
in which 38 people, mostly foreign
tourists, were killed at a seaside
resort.
And it said it was behind a suicide bomb attack against a Shiite
mosque in Kuwait that killed 26
people.
IS also appeared to be the inspiration for an attack in France in
which a man rammed his van into a
gas factory and beheaded his boss.
Its not clear that these actions
are centrally planned or coordinated by IS, said Yezid Sayegh, a senior associate at the Carnegie Middle

East Centre think tank.

That said, we may be seeing the
start of a long campaign conducted
by IS members or sympathisers
who have been trained and then
sent back home to their countries to
take their own initiative in planning
and conducting attacks, depending
on their abilities, resources, and
opportunities.
Already, IS has inspired fear and
horror with its rule over territory in

Syria and Iraq, where mass killings

and brutal executions have become
its hallmarks.
The group controls about 50 percent of Syrias territory, though much
of it is uninhabited, and perhaps one
third of Iraq.
In Syria alone, it has executed more than 3000 people in
the year since announcing its
caliphate,,the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring

A member of the Kurdish security service sits next to the rubble of the security
service headquarters in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on June 28, days after
Islamic State group targeted the building with an explosive-rigged vehicle. Photo: AFP

group said on June 28.

Nearly 1800 of them were civilians, including 74 children, it said.
The executed include more than
200 people killed in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane during an IS attack last week, and over 900 members of the Sunni Muslim Shaitat
tribe who were killed in 2014 after
opposing the jihadist group.
There are no reliable figures in
Iraq, but the group is believed to
have executed thousands there, including as many as 1700 mostly Shiite recruits at the Speicher military
base near Tikrit.
Thousands more have died battling IS in Syria and Iraq, including
Syrian rebels and government forces, Kurdish fighters in both countries, and Iraqi government troops
and Shiite militias.
But few of those forces have had
much success against the group,
with the Iraqi army in particular facing criticism for abandoning territory to IS during a push by the jihadist
group in mid-2014.
Iraqi government forces have no
clear command structure, said Zaid
al-Ali, author of The Struggle For
Iraqs Future.
Clearly Baghdad should have
enough forces at its disposal to control territory, but not all the anti-IS
forces take their instructions from
Baghdad, he added.
Some operate as they please, some
take instructions from elsewhere.

In Syria meanwhile, only Kurdish

forces backed by the US-led coalition
have been able to effectively tackle
the group, with analysts saying opposition forces and the regime appear to lack the weapons or the resolve to fight the jihadists.
Even the anti-IS coalition, which
is carrying out air strikes in Syria
and Iraq and training Iraqi troops
on the ground, has had limited
success.
It has helped ground forces push
IS from Kobane and Tal Abyad in
Syria, and Tikrit and Diyala province
in Iraq.
But the group has continued to
score shocking victories, including
the recent capture of Syrias ancient
town of Palmyra and the taking of
the Iraqi city of Ramadi in mid-May.
The international mobilisation
against Daesh has been minimal,
said Mr Sayegh, using the Arabic acronym for the group.
But it may be that they cannot do more, because the return of
150,000 US troops to the battlefield
is out of the question.
Ultimately analysts say ISs success is as much the result of political
problems as it is military shortcomings.
IS has emerged because of the
failure of Syria and Iraq and the sectarian divisions in them, as well as
corruption and decades of authoritarian rule, Mr Sayegh said.
AFP

China set to make climate

pledge ahead of summit
CHINA is expected to unveil its longawaited national pledges to reduce
carbon emissions beyond 2020, a
state-run newspaper said yesterday,
as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited
Belgium and France ahead of a Paris
climate summit.
The worlds number one emitter
has yet to put forward its intended
nationally determined contribution
(INDC), as the pledges are called by
the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Speculation has mounted that the
announcement will be made during
Mr Lis visit this week to Belgium and
France, where Decembers climate
talks will be held.
Beijings ambassador to the EU,
Yang Yanyi, told the China Daily that
a China-EU joint statement on climate
change was under discussion, as Mr

Li prepared to attend the 17th ChinaEU Summit in Brussels.

It is expected that China will
also unveil its long-awaited national
contribution to combating climate
change, the newspaper said, without
giving details.
All countries are meant to propose
their targets for cutting emissions
ahead of the UN-led talks which are
aimed at forging a pact to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial revolution levels, to take effect from 2020.
At a summit between Chinese
President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama in November
Beijing committed for the first time
to limiting its greenhouse gas output
setting a target date of about 2030 for
its emissions to peak.
AFP

ToKYo

Solar plane soars beyond

point of no return
THE revolutionary Solar Impulse 2
aircraft passed the point of no return
yesterday after it left Japan bound for
Hawaii on the most ambitious leg of its
quest to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun.
Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg, 62,
left the city of Nagoya around 3am local time, five days after weather problems forced the organisers to cancel an
earlier attempt.
No Way Back! This is a one
way ticket to Hawaii, tweeted
@solarimpulse.
Andr Borschberg has passed the
point of no return and must now see
this 5 days 5 nights flight through to
the end.
Japans transport ministry said that
according to the flight plan submitted
by the team, Solar Impulse was to fly
south first and then east before going
up north while avoiding clouds over
the Pacific.
Since it is flying very slowly, something like 70 kilometres [43 miles] per
hour, we are not sure how far it can go
[in a given time], a ministry official
said.
But because of subtropical westerlies, we think it unlikely that the airplane will come back to Nagoya.
The journey to Hawaii is 7900 kilometres and is expected to last at least
five days and five nights.
It is the eighth leg of the circumnavigation, and with nowhere to land
after leaving Japan, is considered the
riskiest so far.
Mr Borschberg has said he will keep

in shape during his long solo flight by

doing yoga, and will sleep 20 minutes
at a time, normally at night.
But he has also previously admitted
that being cooped up in the 3.8-cubicmetre (130-cubic-foot) cockpit for long
stretches of time is a challenge.
Solar Impulse 2 set off from Abu
Dhabi earlier this year in a multi-leg
attempt to get all the way around the
world without a single drop of fuel.
The featherweight flying machine
was not supposed to land in Japan, but
bad weather en route from Nanjing in
China to Hawaii forced a diversion at
the start of June.
The plane has since been stranded
in Japan for nearly a month, with the
crew scouring long-range forecasts for
a favourable weather window.
A chance to restart the recordbreaking journey presented itself last
week, with the plane due to leave Nagoya early on June 24, but mission chiefs
pulled the plug at the 11th hour due to
bad weather over the Pacific Ocean.
Mr Neumann said the weather
looked good for now but could still
change.
In an interview published on June
27, one of the planes two pilots, Bertrand Piccard, said it must cross the
Pacific within a few weeks or it could
remain stuck in Japan for a year.
By early August, the days will become too short for the solar-driven
plane to cross the Pacific, and subsequently the Atlantic Ocean safely, he
told the Tribune de Geneve daily.
AFP

The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft takes off from the Nagoya airport in Aichi prefecture,
central Japan on June 29 for a flight over the Pacific Ocean. Photo: AFP

16 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP

A girl wearing a
traditional Kyrgyz
dress sits on felt
carpets at the 5th
International Festival
of Kyrgyz National
Applied Arts in the
village of At-Bashi,
400 kilometres from
Bishkek, on June 28.
Artisans from all over
Kyrgyzstan took part
in the festival which
received support
from the German
Federal Enterprise
for International
Cooperation.

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan steps up for final offensive

PAKISTANS army is preparing for a
final push in the coming weeks in its
fight against militants, but there are
concerns that rights are being rolled
back in the name of defeating terror.
A year on from the launch of a major offensive to eradicate strongholds
of Taliban and other militants in North
Waziristan tribal area, the military says
the job is 90 percent done.
It is now positioning troops around
the Shawal Valley, a key location close
to the Afghan border that is home
to some of the last redoubts of the
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to locals and security sources.
The army says it has killed more
than 2700 militants since the launch of
the offensive known as Zarb-e-Azb last
June, and destroyed more than 800 of
their hideouts.
A senior military official directly
linked to the offensive said the army
was gearing up for the final push and
using air strikes before moving in
ground troops.
We are turning hard targets into
soft through aerial bombing because

forces expect a resistance in Shawal,

he said.
The troop movements were confirmed by locals, though some tribal
elders warned militants were slipping
across the porous mountainous border
into Afghanistan.
Up to two dozen militants are leaving the area every day and around 200
militants recently moved into part of
Afghan territory, said elder Ajab Khan.
He warned the remaining mountainous and thickly forested areas
where TTP fighters are holed up will be
difficult fighting terrain.
But security analysts caution that
military gains will serve little purpose unless and until the lawless,
semi-autonomous tribal areas see
administrative reform and economic
development.
The Federally-Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA) are among the poorest
in Pakistan, and are governed under
a draconian legal system introduced
by British colonial rulers more than a
century ago.
The longevity of the final push

would largely depend on the constitutional status of the region, said Imtiaz
Gul, executive director at Center for
Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Until the FATA region is mainstreamed and brought under the
law of the land, keeping it clear of
militants and criminals would be
difficult.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians
were forced to leave North Waziristan
by the offensive. Retired Lieutenant
General Talat Masood said reintegrating them was key to success.
These military gains will only be a
part of the exercise. Complete success
depends on the rehabilitation of the
displaced people and development in
the tribal region, he said.
Zarb-e-Azb does seem to have had
a positive impact on militant attacks,
which have been down overall, with
some shocking exceptions, such as the
December massacre by Taliban gunmen of more than 130 children at a
school in Peshawar.
But doubts have been raised about
the transparency of the operation and

the identities of those killed.

There have been repeated reports of
civilian deaths, but the military tightly
controls access to the conflict zone,
preventing independent assessment.
I A Rehman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP) said there was no way to know
for sure who the army had killed.
We dont know the truth about the
casualties. What is the actual number
of casualties, how many of them are
terrorists and how many of them innocents? he told AFP.
They should make this action
transparent. People should have access
in the areas of operation.
Concerns have also been raised
about the resumption of executions
and introduction of military courts,
which have sat in secret, under a government National Action Plan (NAP) to
defeat terror, launched in the wake of
the Peshawar massacre.
The European Union, the United
Nations and various international
rights groups have been alarmed by the
pace of executions. There have been

around 160 since they began again in

December after a six-year hiatus.
Mr Rehman said HRCP did not
accept the legitimacy of the military
courts, which handed out their first rulings in April, sentencing six militants
to death and another to life in jail.
The news was announced in a
Twitter post by the chief military
spokesperson Major General Asim
Bajwa, with no details given on the
nature of the crimes, when or where
the trials were held, the evidence presented or even the identity of those
convicted.
The Supreme Court is currently
hearing challenges to the constitutionality of the military tribunals.
Moreover there are doubts the NAP
will do much to deal with the radicalisation of young people by hardline
seminaries that underlies much of Pakistans terror problems.
They have resumed hangings
through the National Action Plan but
the seminaries are still working and
there is no check on them, Mr Rehman
said. AFP

DAVAO

MAPUTO

Maoist rebel idol killed in Philippines

Mozambique lifts abortion

and homosexuality bans

THE Philippine military has shot

dead an infamous Communist guerilla
leader in a blow to one of the worlds
longest-running Maoist insurgencies,
authorities said yesterday.
New Peoples Army (NPA) commander Leonardo Pitao was killed in
a mountainous hamlet near the major
southern city of Davao on June 28 by
army special forces, the military said.
Hes an NPA idol, and now they will
see how the long arm of the law finally
caught up with their leader, MajorGeneral Eduardo Ano said of the rebel
leader also known as Commander
Parago.
This is not only going to be a big
setback; this is going to be what you
call the fall of the NPA in the Davao region, Maj-Gen Ano told reporters.
A woman believed to be Mr Pitaos
medic was also killed as the months-

long operation targeting the most

famous guerrilla leader in the main
southern island of Mindanao ended, a
military statement said.
The 46-year-old rebellion has
claimed tens of thousands of lives and
impoverished large areas of the country.
The insurgencys armed force is
now estimated at fewer than 4000
fighters, about half of whom most are
on Mindanao. The military says the
group sustains itself by extorting from
businesses.
The military said Mr Pitao, described by the local press as about 57
years old, commanded the 700-strong
Pulang Bagani Command.
He had several standing arrest warrants for various crimes ranging from
murder to robbery, the military statement said.
In 1999 Mr Pitaos unit abducted

Brigadier-General Victor Obillo, head

of an army engineering unit building
roads in remote, impoverished areas
influenced by communist guerrillas.
Mr Pitao was arrested later that
same year, after Brig-Gen Obillo and
his military aide were freed unharmed.
However the guerilla leader was
released less than two years later as
part of the governments efforts to hold
peace talks with the insurgents, which
have so far been unsuccessful.
In 2009, Mr Pitaos 20-year-old
daughter, who was not accused of being
a guerrilla, was abducted by unknown
gunmen and later found murdered in
Davao. Her murder was never solved.
The NPA blamed the security forces for
the unsolved killing, and said it would
hold the then-president Gloria Arroyos
administration responsible. The military rejected the allegation. AFP

HOMOSEXUALITY was decriminalised in Mozambique yesterday when

a new penal code came into force that
swept away old Portuguese colonial
laws, in a victory for campaigners for
gay rights in Africa.
The old code, dating back to 1886,
targeted anyone who habitually engages in vices against nature, but no
prosecutions are known to have taken
place after Mozambique became independent in 1975.
Breaking the law was theoretically
punishable by up to three years of hard
labour.
Its a symbolic victory, as social inclusion remains the main challenge,
Frank, a student gay rights activist who
declined to give his full name, said.
The new penal code, which was

announced last December by thenpresident Armando Guebuza, also decriminalises abortion after lobbying by
civil rights organisations.
The code came into force yesterday, though no official events or celebrations were scheduled to mark the
occasion.
The majority of African countries
outlaw homosexuality, but Mozambique has seen little anti-gay violence
or social friction over the issue.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe is known for his
crusades against homosexuality, and
discrimination is widespread across
the continent.
Homosexuality
is
punishable
by death in Sudan, Nigeria and
Mauritania. AFP

World 17

www.mmtimes.com
HONG KONG

Student leader Wong in

chilling street attack
HONG Kong student leader Joshua
Wong, the teenage face of the citys
pro-democracy protests, was assaulted
in the street with his girlfriend in an
attack he said yesterday sent a chill
to my heart.
The motivation for the assault is
not known but previous high-profile
attacks against prominent media figures have raised concerns that tensions from Hong Kongs deep political
divisions could turn violent.
Mr Wong, 18, was leaving a cinema
near Mong Kok the scene of some
of the most bitter clashes in last years
street rallies with his girlfriend late
on June 28 when the assault occurred.
The male attacker punched Mr
Wong in the face and when he and
his girlfriend gave chase both were
assaulted, the activist said on his
Facebook page.
Being attacked on the way home

after going on a date, and even attacking my girlfriend, its shameful, he

said.
Police said yesterday they had yet
to make an arrest, confirming that Mr
Wong had suddenly been attacked
by a suspect in his 20s and had sustained injuries to his eyes and nose.
The suspect tried to flee, but the
two victims followed, and when the
female tried to take pictures of the
suspect he then attacked the male and
female victims, a police spokesperson
said.
Last years mass protests were
sparked after Beijing insisted that candidates for Hong Kongs next leader
must be vetted by a loyalist committee, a decision campaigners including
Mr Wong derided as fake democracy.
The electoral proposals were voted
down earlier in June after a protracted
debate that divided the city.

[The assault] implies activists are

facing the danger of attacks in their
daily lives, not only during protests.
This is what sends a chill to my heart,
Mr Wong wrote in an emotional Facebook post.
Its not only a problem with universal suffrage. Its about the limited
freedom and legal system slowly being
obliterated by these violent acts.
The road ahead is long and tough,
but we should retain our goal and
keep walking on this bumpy road of
democracy.
Other leading anti-establishment
figures targeted in the past include
media tycoon Jimmy Lai, whose office and home were firebombed in
January.
Kevin Lau, former editor of the
liberal Ming Pao newspaper, was attacked by knife-wielding assailants in
February last year. AFP

sEOUL

No new MERS deaths, but alert still on

SOUTH Korea reported no new cases
of MERS or deaths from the virus for
the first time in nine days yesterday,
but officials warned there was no indication yet that the outbreak had been
brought under control.
The number of those infected with
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
remained unchanged for two days in
a row at 182, the health ministry said.
The death toll also remained unchanged from 32 on June 28. It is the
first time that the country has reported no additional infections as well as
no new deaths since June 20.
Then, officials voiced hope that
they were winning the battle against
the outbreak, only to see the number
of fatalities and infections rise again,
sparking public criticism that their
optimism was premature.
The number of new patients
has generally been in decline since
mid-June, when it often jumped by

IN PICTUREs
Photo: AFP

double digits. Many of the new infections stemmed from Samsung Medical
Centre in Seoul, which has been the
epicentre of the outbreak.
But officials remained cautious yesterday as they monitored developments
at another hospital in eastern Seoul,
where a MERS patient potentially came
into contact with thousands of people
before being diagnosed on June 22 and
dying two days later.
This week falls within the incubation period involving that case, so we
are keeping a close eye on the situation and will do our best to prevent
further spread of the virus, Kwon
Duk-Cheol, a senior health ministry
official, told reporters.
A total of 2682 people are currently
under quarantine either in state facilities or at home.
Fourteen patients are in critical
condition, the ministry said, adding a
total of 93 people have recovered and

been released from hospital, including

two on June 28.
The outbreak began on May 20
when a 68-year-old man was diagnosed after returning from a trip from
Saudi Arabia.
Since then the potentially deadly
virus has spread at an unusually rapid
pace, becoming the largest outbreak
outside Saudi Arabia and sparking
public alarm at home and elsewhere
in Asia.
There is no vaccine for the disease,
which has a mortality rate of about
36 percent, according to the World
Health Organization.
The fatality rate in South Korea is
about 17pc.
The outbreak has dealt a severe
blow to the Asias fourth-largest economy, with the government facing a
storm of criticism for slow and insufficient response in the initial stages.
AFP

A man pours red wine on a girls head during the Batalla del Vino (Battle of
Wine) in Haro, on June 29. Every year thousands of locals and tourists climb a
mountain in the northern Spanish province of La Rioja to celebrate St. Peters
day covering each other in red wine. Tanker trucks distribute the wine to
revellers. More than 9000 people threw around 130,000 litres of during this
years festival, according to local media.

sYDNEY

$18 million for British

child abuse survivors
FORMER British child migrants
who were physically and sexually
assaulted at a notorious school in
Australia yesterday won the largest compensation payment for survivors of mass child abuse in the
countrys legal history.
A class action lawsuit was
brought by almost 150 former residents of Fairbridge Farm School,
against the Australian and New
South Wales state governments
after they were abused at the educational institution between 1938
and 1974.
Slater and Gordon lawyer Roop
Sandhu said the A$24 million
(US$18.3 million) payout marked
a major milestone in the acknowledgement of institutional child
abuse.
Our clients have suffered a lifetime of serious physical and psychiatric injuries as a result of their
time at Fairbridge, Mr Sandhu
said, adding that it was the largest
settlement for survivors of mass
child abuse ever in Australia.
They were all vulnerable children in need of care and protection, but instead they were subjected to horrific physical and sexual
abuse, which in many cases has
scarred them for life.
The case was one of the first
class actions against an Australian
government connected with child
migration; a practice under which
thousands of underprivileged British children were sent to Australia
without their parents last century
in the hope of giving them a better life.
It alleged the Fairbridge Foundation, the New South Wales
government and the Australian
government allowed a system of
institutional abuse to develop and
persist at the school over decades.
Lawyers said hundreds of students, some as young as four,

arrived from Britain at the school

in the New South Wales town of
Molong and often never saw their
parents again.
Many told of being physically
and sexually abused by staff.
Former Fairbridge residents
Geraldine Giles and Vivian Drady
acted as lead claimants in the class
action which began in December
2009.
No amount of money can take
the flashbacks and memories out
of my head, Ms Giles said.
But the settlement shows
that what happened at Fairbridge
should never have happened and
that we deserved better.
Mr Sandhu said the agreement
avoided an eight-week trial, which
was due to start later this year.
Ms Giles and Ms Drady showed
immense courage and fortitude
in bringing this claim on behalf
of others at a great personal and
emotional toll, Mr Sandhu said.
Slater and Gordon said the New
South Wales Department of Family
and Community Services had provided a full and unqualified apology and the Fairbridge Foundation
had agreed to do the same.
The number of child migrants
sent to Australia is not known,
but the government estimates that
from 1947 to 1967, between 7000
and 10,000 children arrived, the
vast majority from Britain, with
most placed in institutional care.
The settlement comes with Australia in the midst of a national inquiry into institutional responses
to child sex abuse after a decade
of pressure to investigate wideranging allegations of paedophilia
in Australia.
It has heard harrowing allegations of child abuse involving places of worship, orphanages, community groups and schools.
AFP

BEIJING

Slightly less great wall

AROUND 30 percent of Chinas
Ming-era Great Wall has disappeared over time as adverse natural conditions and reckless human
activities including stealing the
bricks to build houses erode the
UNESCO World Heritage site, state
media reported.
The Great Wall is not a single
unbroken structure but stretches
for thousands of kilometres in
sections, from Shanhaiguan on
the east coast to Jiayuguan in the
windswept sands on the edge of
the Gobi desert.
In places it is so dilapidated
that estimates of its total length
vary from 9000 to 21,000 kilometres (5600 to 13,000 miles),
depending on whether missing
sections are included. Despite its
length it is not, as is sometimes
claimed, visible from space.
Construction first begun in the
third century BC, but nearly 6300
km were built in the Ming Dynasty
of 1368-1644, including the muchvisited sectors north of the capital
Beijing.
Of that, 1962 km have melted
away over the centuries, the Beijing Times reported.
Some of the construction
weathered away, while plants
growing in the walls have accelerated the decay, said the report on
June 28, citing a survey last year
by the Great Wall of China Society.
Even though some of the walls
are built of bricks and stones, they

cannot withstand the perennial

exposure to wind and rain, the
paper quoted Dong Yaohui, a vice
president of the society, as saying.
Many towers are becoming increasingly shaky and may collapse
in a single rainstorm in summer.
Tourism and local residents
activities are also damaging the
longest human construction in the
world, the paper added.
Poor villagers in Lulong county
in the northern province of Hebei
used to knock thick grey bricks
from a section of wall in their village to build homes, and slabs
engraved with Chinese characters
were sold for 30 yuan (US$4.80)
each by local residents, it said.
Under Chinese regulations people who take bricks from the Great
Wall can be fined up to 5000 yuan,
the state-run Global Times said
yesterday.
But there is no specific organisation to enforce the rules.
Damage could only be reported to
higher authorities and it is hard
to solve when it happened on the
border of two provinces, said Jia
Hailin, a cultural relics protection
official in Hebei, according to the
report.
It added that explorations of
undeveloped parts of the Great
Wall an increasingly popular leisure activity in recent years had
brought those sections more tourists than they could bear, damaging them severely. AFP

18 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

BUJUMBURA

Burundi polls open amidst violence

VOTING in Burundis controversial
elections opened yesterday despite a
string of grenade attacks in polling
stations, the latest in weeks of violence sparked by the presidents defiant bid for a third term.
Assailants threw grenades at stations in both the capital Bujumbura
and in some provinces ahead of yesterdays parliamentary and local elections, delaying the start of voting in
many of the centres, police and election officials said.
UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon has called for the elections to
be delayed after the opposition said
they would not take part, as Burundi
faces its worst crisis since its civil war
ended nine years ago.
Armed groups tried to attack
polling centres. They were shooting
and threw grenades, but the police
stopped them, deputy police chief
Godefroid Bizimana said.
Stations for the parliamentary and
local elections opened late in some
areas, although election commission
spokesperson Prosper Ntahorwamiye
insisted that, apart from some delays
due to the violence, voting was going well.
Voting has not yet begun in many
centres in the capital because election
officials are trying to prepare materials and in almost all of the stations,
these arrived late because of the overnight attacks, said election commission chief in Bujumbura, Cyriaque
Bucumi.
On the eve of the election, top
party official and parliament head Pie
Ntavyohanyuma said he had joined
some 127,000 other Burundians who
have fled the country, denouncing
President Pierre Nkurunzizas illegal bid to stay in power for a third
term.
Burundi was plunged into turmoil
in late April when Mr Nkurunziza

The mandate he
wants to have is
illegal. I would like
to say to him that
forcing through
the election is
senseless.
Pie Ntavyohanyuma
Parliament head

Electoral commission officials register at a polling station in Cibitoke, Bujumbura, on June 28 on the eve of Burundis elections. The small, landlocked African
country of Burundi held parliamentary and local elections yesterday after weeks of unrest, recalling its long history of conflict and ethnic massacres. Photo: AFP

launched his drive for a third consecutive five-year term, triggering widespread protests.
Opponents say his bid for another
term is unconstitutional and violates
a peace accord that paved the way
to end 13 years of civil war in 2006.
Presidential polls are due on July 15.
The mandate he wants to have
is illegal. I would like to say to him
that forcing through the election is
senseless, Mr Ntavyohanyuma told
the broadcaster France 24 on June 29.
More than 70 people have been
killed in weeks of violence and a
failed coup sparked by Mr Nkurunzizas bid to stay in power, with a string
of grenade attacks in recent days.
Several top officials including the deputy vice-president Gervais Rufyikiri as well as members
of the election commission and

constitutional court have also fled the

poverty-stricken, landlocked country.
The African Union has refused to
send observers to the polls.
Noting that the necessary conditions are not met for the organisation
of free, fair, transparent and credible
elections ... the AU Commission will
not observe the local and parliamentary elections, AU chief Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement.
Almost 4 million people are registered to vote, but the opposition are
boycotting the polls, claiming it is not
possible to hold a fair vote.
Election commission chief PierreClaver Ndayicariye said he had not
received any official notification confirming the opposition withdrawal
from the vote.
This is nothing new in Burundi.
In Africa, boycott is another way of

doing politics, he said. The opposition boycotted polls in 2010.

Civil society groups backed the
boycott in a joint statement calling
on voters to skip the sham elections
and urging the international community not to recognise the validity of
the polls.
Under the constitution, based
on peace deals that ended the civil
war, there are strict ethnic quotas in
parliament.
Parliament must be made up of 60
percent from the majority Hutu people who make up some 85 percent
of the population with the remaining 40pc of elected seats reserved for
the minority Tutsi.
Many fear a repeat of that conflict,
which split the country along ethnic lines, pitting the majority Hutus
against the minority Tutsis. AFP

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza

addresses a crowd in Bujumbura, on
June 26. Photo: AFP

BUJUMBURA

Burundi: Key facts

THE small, landlocked African
country of Burundi held parliamentary and local elections on yesterday after weeks of unrest, recalling its long history of conflict and
ethnic massacres.
Opposition parties are boycotting elections including a presidential vote due July 15 saying
that it is not possible to hold a fair
vote.
The African Union has said it
will not act as observer to the elections over fears the polls will not
be credible.
Over 70 people have been killed
in weeks of street protests that
erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third
term in office.

Those protests were brutally

suppressed, triggering an exodus of
around 127,000 into neighbouring
countries.
Ethnic divisions
Tensions between Burundis ethnic
Hutu majority some 85 percent of
the 10 million population and the
Tutsi minority have boiled over repeatedly since independence from
colonial ruler Belgium in 1962.
In 1972, a failed Hutu-led uprising against Tutsi-dominated rulers
sparked a wave of massacres.
Later, the 1993 assassination of
the first Hutu president, Melchior
Ndadaye, triggered a civil war between the Tutsi-dominated army
and Hutu rebels that lasted until

2006 despite several peace deals.

Today, the fault lines are no
longer simply ethnic. Both Mr Nkurunziza and his main rival Agathon
Rwasa are Hutus. However, old divisions remain.

but more than two-thirds of the

population lives below the poverty
line, with a gross average national
income of just US$260.
World Bank data put 2013 gross
domestic product at $2.7 billion.

Economic frustration
Burundi, which lies in the Great
Lakes region, is one of Africas
most densely populated nations.
Farming forms the backbone of the
economy, with key exports of coffee
and tea.
Manufacturing is underdeveloped, and the country suffers from
a poor transportation network and
government corruption that stifles
the private sector.
The nation is green and fertile,

Constitutional challenge
Mr Nkurunziza was first voted in
by parliament in 2005, as part of
the peace process to end the 19932006 civil war. In 2010 he was reelected, this time by the people.
Opponents say a third term
would violate the constitution and
jeopardise deals that ended civil
war that stipulated presidents cannot rule for more than a decade.
Mr
Nkurunzizas
supporters refute that, saying the

constitution
overrules
earlier
agreements, and states leaders can
rule for two terms after elections
by direct universal suffrage.
Militia forces
The international community has
repeatedly warned of a risk of violence, with rival parties growing
increasingly radical.
The United Nations has said is
particularly worried about the ruling partys youth wing, the Imbonerakure, a fearsome group whose
name means The Watchmen or,
literally, Those Who See Far.
The Imbonerakure are accused
of being a militia force by the UN,
carrying out a string of attacks.
AFP

World 19

www.mmtimes.com
KHARTOUM

Sudanese media come under pressure

HE has been a journalist in Sudan
for six difficult decades, but with his
countrys press facing mounting pressure and censorship, Mahjoub Mohamed Salih says his job has never
been so difficult.
A reporter since before Sudans
1956 independence from Britain and
Egypt, the 88-year-old founder of independent daily Al-Ayam has been
arrested, banned from publishing and
even seen his newspaper nationalised.
But never, he says, have he and
other journalists had to deal with as
much pressure as now.
This is the most difficult period
to work as a journalist, Mr Salih says
speaking at his run-down office in
central Khartoum.
Sudans National Intelligence
and Security Services (NISS) have
launched two sweeping press crackdowns this year, raiding printing
presses and confiscating all copies of
14 newspapers on February 16.
Media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) said the massive
and indiscriminate seizures constitute an unacceptable act of censorship.
Critics tied the seizures to elections
in April that saw President Omar alBashir win another five-year term.
Mr Bashir, who is wanted by the
International Criminal Court on war
crimes charges over the conflict in
Darfur, has been repeatedly accused
of cracking down on opponents.
But in May security agents seized
copies of another 10 newspapers, apparently after they reported cases

Sudanese editor of the independent

Al-Ayam daily Mahjoub Mohamed
Salih looks on during an interview
with AFP in the capital Khartoum
on June 25. Mr Salih has been a
journalist in Sudan for six difficult
decades, but with his countrys
press facing mounting pressure
and censorship, he says his job has
never been so difficult. Photo: AFP

of child abuse on school buses, and

temporarily banned four from publishing.
The NISS rarely gives explanations
for its seizures.
Mr Salih is no stranger to run-ins
with Sudanese authorities.
He has been detained more times
than he can remember, banned from
publishing for two years in the 1950s,
and his newspaper was nationalised
for 16 years from 1970.

Instead of seeing hoped-for improvements in the countrys press climate, he still worries every day.
I keep my fingers crossed that
tomorrow morning I dont get a
telephone call telling me that my
newspaper has not reached the reader, he says.
Mr Salihs newspaper has been
confiscated less often than some others, but fear of the financial losses he
could suffer has made him cut his

circulation to just 3000 copies per

day.
He estimates that newspapers with
a wider circulation of 20,000 per day
could lose up to 30 million Sudanese
pounds (US$5 million) per confiscation, a significant sum in a country
where most newspapers sell for just
two Sudanese pounds.
Sudanese reporters have worked
under strict surveillance since
Mr Bashir seized power in a 1989

Islamist-backed coup.
They know reporting certain stories corruption, the conflict in the
western Darfur region and sensitive
political issues could see them detained, prosecuted or even attacked.
Pre-publication censorship was
abolished in 2009 but little has
changed. Sudan still ranked 174th out
of 180 countries in RSFs 2015 World
Press Freedom Index.
Instead newspapers face a long,
unwritten list of off-limit topics.
The whole picture is painted red.
There isnt a red line, Mr Salih says.
Officially, the information ministry
and the government-run press council are meant to oversee the press and
apply Sudans media laws.
But the NISS has free rein to carry
out its seizures, often without informing the press council or the editors of
the newspapers.
All press issues are dealt with by
the security apparatus, Mr Salih says.
Mr Salihs counterpart at pro-government political daily Al-Intibaha,
Alsadig Alrizagi, saw his newspapers
print licence was suspended for more
than two weeks in May over an article
that mentioned child abuse in Sudan.
Like Mr Salih, Mr Alrizagi says the
countrys journalists are facing difficulties like never before.
In the past, the security apparatus
had red lines, linked to politics and
security. But now the last confiscation
of 10 newspapers was because of an
article about a social issue, said Mr
Alrizagi, who also heads Sudans journalists union. AFP

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DePuTY Pulse eDiTor: ToM BArTon tom.a.barton@gmail.com

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

Dalai Lama urges

happiness and
peace at Glastonbury
T

he Dalai Lama made his first appearance at Glastonbury on June 28, spending
an hour in the rain addressing festival-goers on how the world could be a happier
place.
The Tibetan spiritual leader called for a more holistic education from
kindergarten to university, which should bring a sense of care and help
promote human love.
everyone has the right to achieve a happy life, he told hundreds gathered at the
Greenfield site, an area of calm away from the madness of the main music stages.
The elderly Buddhist monk hailed the full joy of the revellers present, and got into the
spirit himself by wearing a Glastonbury t-shirt on his head against the rain.
he was treated to a rendition of happy Birthday by the crowd in honour of his 80th
year, and urged them to think seriously about how to create a happy world, a happy 21st
century thats the best gift for me.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner expressed dismay at ongoing violence in Syria, Iraq,
Nigeria and elsewhere, saying it was our own creation and warning, The killing of human
beings by human beings is the worst thing.
Arriving at Londons heathrow airport on the day before, he had expressed horror at the
previous days attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France.
All major world religious traditions are actually I think the source of the practice of
love, forgiveness, tolerance. That very factor is now becoming the source of violence. Its
unthinkable, he said.
China has criticised Glastonbury organisers for inviting the Dalai Lama to speak, saying
they were offering him a platform for what it calls his separatist activities.
The Dalai Lama says he supports meaningful autonomy for Tibet rather than outright
independence, but Beijing often denounces officials who meet him.
The elderly monk also spoke to supporters on June 29 in the southern english army base
town of Aldershot, which has a large Nepalese Buddhist community made up mainly of
serving and retired Gurkha soldiers.
A small protest is planned by members of the International Shugden Community, a
branch of Tibetan Buddhism that reveres a deity denounced by the Dalai Lama since 1996.
The Glastonbury festival drew to a close on June 28 with US crooner Lionel Richie
stealing the show with a hit performance that drew tens of thousands.
This is unbelievable. Im intimidated because you know the words better than I do,
Richie told the crowd.
British band The Who, which famously played Woodstock in 1969, closed the festival
with a vintage rock performance on the Pyramid Stage.
AFP

The Dalai Lama speaks at the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on June 28.

The Dalai Lama addresses an audience near the Stone Circle as he visits the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts in Somerset, southwest England. Photos: AFP/Oli Scarff

the pulse 21

www.mmtimes.com
KUALA LUMPUR

A Malaysian
chef gives final
touches to the the
Nasi Lemak pizza
at the upscale
Tujo Bar-serrie
& Grill in Kuala
Lumpur.
A Malaysian stall assistant serves Nasi Lemak dish on a plate at the Nasi Lemak
Tanglin stall in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: APF/Manan Vatsyayana

Spicing up Malaysias
beloved national dish
SATiSh Cheney

AINAL Abidins tiny food

stall serves just one item
and opens for only a few
hours but is besieged each
day by nearly a thousand
customers clamouring for Malaysias
undisputed national dish, nasi lemak.
We need more rice in here!
shouted a sweaty teenager working
Zainals stall as customers waited
expectantly in a long queue amid
the aroma of coconut milk and fried
anchovies.
Italy has its pasta, Japan its sushi
and england its fish and chips.
But perhaps no dish is more
ubiquitous or beloved in Malaysia as
nasi lemak, rice cooked with coconut
milk and served with golden-fried
anchovies, roasted peanuts, a boiled
egg, sliced cucumbers and a dollop of
a fiery chilli concoction sambal.
Born as a cheap breakfast, nasi
lemak is today eaten throughout

The owner of Cielo Dolci cafe poses with a cup of Nasi Lemak ice-cream at his
cafe in Kuala Lumpur.

A Malaysian man eats a plate of popular Nasi Lemak dish at the Nasi Lemak Tanglin stall in Kuala Lumpur.

the day, and is on an expanding

culinary sojourn with the classic
recipe continually tweaked, and even
innovations such as nasi lemak pizza
and ice cream appearing on menus.
Demand for nasi lemak has gone
up a lot over the years because it is not
just for breakfast anymore, said Zainal,
57, whose mother first opened their
Nasi Lemak Tanglin stall in 1948.
Usually translated as fatty
rice, nasi lemak also is served
in neighbouring countries like
Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, but
nowhere is it more deeply rooted in
the food culture than Malaysia.
Farmers and fishermen are
believed to have thrown it together
as a breakfast rich in necessary carbs,
protein, fats and delivering a spicy kick.
But it is now ubiquitous across
the country, including higher-end
restaurants and hotels.
At Kuala Lumpurs upscale Tujo
Bar-serrie & Grill, Malaysia and Italy
have been united in a nasi lemak
pizza thin crusts infused with either
squid ink or spinach, and topped with
anchovy, onions, roast peanuts and
sambal.
Tourists like it too, but locals
especially get quite excited because
they cant imagine it when they
read about it, said Samantha Lee, a
Tujo spokesperson who said a pasta
version will debut soon.
Food critics say nasi lemaks
simplicity makes it a clean slate ripe
for culinary experimentation.
Nasi lemak possesses a potential
that many Malaysian restaurateurs
are exploiting in innovative ways, said
Sean Loong, a Malaysian food blogger.
These innovations illustrate
Malaysias continuing fascination with
nasi lemak, Loong said, adding that
experiments with the dish have begun
to take off in the past two years.
Ong Kee Win, who runs the trendy
Cielo Dolci cafe known for its original
ice creams including beer and soy
flavours, came up with a nasi lemak
ice cream in 2012.
People thought I was crazy.
Nobody wanted to try it at first, Ong
said. But these days, more locals and
foreigners want to try it.
After cooking his coconut rice,
Ong churns it together with a secret

gelato base, later topping it off with

frozen peanuts, anchovies and chilli
flakes.
The end-product, redolent of
coconut, tastes uncannily like a thick,
creamy, frozen version of the real
deal.
Few traits are as effective in
promoting a country and its culture
abroad as cuisine, yet nasi lemak
despite its importance at home is
yet to join the globally recognised
ranks of sushi and pasta.
Tourism officials, however, last
year marketed nasi lemak as a slice
of Malaysian exotica in a promotional
campaign in Japan.
The dish also got some overseas
publicity when a Malaysia-born
woman won the popular MasterChef
television cooking contest in Britain
with a nasi lemak dish.
Ong feels the often intensely spicy
sambal blocks overseas acceptance.
Nasi lemak hasnt become
globally famous yet because of
the spiciness but experimentation
will help as we put nasi lemak in a
different context now, said Ong.
The dishs expanding frontiers and
popularity at home were on display at
a recent nasi lemak festival in Kuala
Lumpur that drew thousands seeking
to taste the creations of some of the
capitals top chefs.
These included vegetarian and
organic versions that replaced
anchovies with mushroom stalks
coupled with creatively fried
vegetables and brown rice.
Another recipe involved frying the
coconut rice in a wok with a special
chilli formula that turned it all a fiery
red.
Across Malaysia, other versions
may include sides of fried chicken,
squid marinated and cooked in chilli
sauce, fried beef lungs, or an array of
other touches.
But adherents arent about to
forsake the time-tested original.
Dean Johari flew in specially for
the festival, saying the standards
of classic nasi lemak in his native
neighbouring Singapore have slipped.
It brings back childhood
memories, and of a time that was
simpler. To me, that is priceless, he
said, finishing off a plate. AFP

22 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

BERLIN

Sunday
gardeners
face off against
developers
MARIE JULIEN

N a green bubble away from the

Berlin grind, a passionate tribe
of urban gardeners has taken up
the struggle against developers
bulldozers as more oases come
under threat from a property boom.
Frogs croak and garden shears
slice, with little else breaking the
silence of the Oeynhausen colony of
allotments on a prime slab of land in
the southwest of the German capital.
But there is tension behind the
calm. Placards at the entrance warn,
No chance for the destruction of the
gardens!
Two-thirds of the 131,000
square metres (1.4 million square
feet) lovingly tilled by the Sunday
gardeners were sold off in 2008 by its
owner, the German postal service, to
an investment company, Lorac.

Lorac plans to sell the property

to a developer, Groth, which aims
to build attractive new flats. Lorac
says it will seek millions of euros
in damages from the city if anyone
stands in the way of the deal.
however the investors did not factor
in a gardeners revolt, with the survival
of the idyllic 111-year-old Oeynhausen
community hanging in the balance.
If we hadnt fought, the
excavators would already be there
and we would all be gone, says
holger Jost, a 63-year-old pensioner
and enthusiastic gardener.
Its land to be built on, insists
Bernhard haas, an attorney for Lorac,
complaining bitterly of the fabulous
privilege enjoyed by the gardeners in
a highly attractive residential area.
Quiet and just a few minutes
walk from public transport and
the motorway, this property is

A garden at the Oeynhausen allotment in Berlins Schmargendorf district. Photo: AFP/Tobias Schwarz

predestined for homes, says henrik

Thomsen, a Groth executive.
Berlin really needs housing so
you have to decide: Do you save the
gardens or build 700 flats? he asks.
The Berlin government says the
capital needs up to 15,000 new homes
per year to cope with an influx from
across Germany and abroad. Rents,
long among the most affordable in
europe, have soared 46 percent across
the city since 2009.
But locals, long spoiled with
abundant parks and empty lots,

are fighting tooth and nail to

preserve their green oases. In 2014,
voters blocked the construction of
new housing on the giant site of
decommissioned airport Tempelhof,
which has been reclaimed by
Berliners as a park.
The gardeners of Oeynhausen
aim to take a lesson from that victory,
commissioning expert reports, lobbying
politicians and even calling a public
referendum last year which saw an
overwhelming majority support the
preservation of the allotments.
These kinds of conflicts are going
to be more and more common in
Berlin, warned Stefan Grundei, of
the Federal Association of German
Garden Friends (BDG), pointing to
Berlins dismal public finances and
the brisk demand for property.
With 67,000 parcels of property,
Berlin has more community gardens
than any other German city in part
a legacy of the Cold War when a lot of
land, particularly near the Wall, was
relatively cheap and West Berlin was
largely cut off from the east German
countryside.
But it seems that number will
drop, Grundei says. An entire colony
near the upscale shopping avenue
Kurfuerstendamm was razed in 2010
to make way for luxury lofts.
Some regions of Germany have
trouble finding enough gardeners for
their allotments but in Berlin, yearslong waiting lists are the rule.
Among the tiny tracts, usually
leased in perpetuity, just over 5pc
change hands each year. Previous
tenants can ask for thousands of
euros from those who succeed them
to cover the cost of sheds, planted
trees and garden equipment.

The rent for the plots of land

themselves average about one euro a
day, according to Thomas Wagner of
the BDG.
Access to green space should not
just be for the elite but for everybody,
he said.
The average age of a hobby
gardener is 60 and the allotments
tend to have an image as fusty
redoubts for fastidious retirees. But
young families who want to teach
their children about nature are
increasingly getting in on the act.
holger Jost said he acquired his
plot nine years ago for his vegetarian
son, a fussy eater. his child is now
grown but Jost still enjoys his 300
square metres of nature.
With a hat shielding his eyes from
the sun, Alban Becker, president of
the Oeynhausen association, says
the garden puts him at ease, and his
now-retired wife often nipped by to
unwind after a stressful day at the
office.
Becker says the plots are more
than a perk for the lucky tenants
but a green lung for all of Berlin,
including the robins, rabbits and
foxes who flit through on hot summer
evenings.
A crucial part of the battle for the
survival of the garden allotments
is conveying the message that they
contribute something positive for all
of society, Grundei adds.
At Oeynhausen, large pathways
are open to joggers and walkers from
outside, a cafe serves al fresco lunches
and information boards tell children
about the secrets of flora and fauna.
Leftover fruits and vegetables are
placed in baskets, ripe for the taking
for any passer-by. AFP

OTTAWA

Winnipeg police accidentally

broadcast raunchy chat
The crew of a Winnipeg police
helicopter was red-faced last week
after accidentally broadcasting their
sexually explicit conversation during a
routine patrol over the Canadian city to
shocked and amused citizens below.
According to a police statement,
at around 9:30pm on June 22 the
officers had inadvertently activated
the aircrafts public address system.
As a result, the flight crews
conversation was publicly broadcast,
it said.
Residents of the western plains
city immediately went on Twitter to
poke fun at the officers, prompting
the event to trend on social media in
the region.
Does the #Winnipeg chopper
realise the entire West end can hear

their convo about blow jobs right

now, posted Natanielle Felicitas,
who was reportedly enjoying a nice
evening in her backyard when she
overheard the voices from the sky.
It was a hilarious and inappropriate
human blooper moment ... too bizarre
not to share, she later told public
broadcaster CBC.
Another bemused resident said
he could make out only a few words
in the conversation as the helicopter
flew overhead: Too much body hair.
Because of the loud noise
generated by the aircrafts engine and
propeller, the officers had no idea at
first that their workplace chat could
be overheard. When they finally
realised it they shut off the speaker
system. AFP

the pulse 23

www.mmtimes.com
LOs ANGELEs

Oscars body addresses diversity criticism

Actor David Oyelowo is one of 300-plus

new members of the Academy Awards
body. Photo: AFP/Mladen Antonov

TODAY
Conversation

Tuesday Snippets. A gathering in which all

sorts of people interested in the future of
the country enjoy conversation and perhaps
some beer until late at night. Pansodan
Gallery, Pansodan Street, Kyauktada 7-10pm

Movies

Tuesday Movies at the Connect Institute.

Free popcorn, chips and soft drinks, fun
games and quizzes, thought-provoking
discussions and more. Connect Institute,
3A Pansodan Business Tower (corner of
Anawrahta Road and Pansodan Street)
2:30-4pm

Yoga

Yoga Class. Stretch your limbs in the

outdoor covered studio on the lake with a
beautiful view and gentle breezes. 1.5 hours
for K7000. LOpera Italian Restaurant, 62D U
Htun Nyein Street, Mayangone 4:45pm

cademy award
organisers invited
more than 300 new
members June 26 to
join the award-giving
body, including a number of female
and black stars after criticism that
nominations for the 2015 race lacked
diversity.
as filmmaking evolves, so do we.
The academy of motion Picture arts
and Sciences, the body said on its
website.
The academy, whose
thousands of voting members are
overwhelmingly white, with an

average age in their 60s, invited 322

new artists and filmmakers to join
the organisation.
among them was British actor
david Oyelowo, who starred as civil
rights leader martin Luther King in
the 2014 film Selma.
although the movie made it into
the best picture race and received
rave reviews, none of its actors
nor its director received Oscar
nominations.
moreover, not a single non-white
actor or actress was shortlisted
in any of the four main acting
categories for 2015.

The academy also extended an

invitation to British actress Gugu
mbatha-Raw, whose father is South
african, and african-american
filmmaker malcolm d Lee.
meanwhile, a substantial number
of women were invited into the
group, including actresses Heather
Graham, elizabeth Banks, Felicity
Jones, Rosamund Pike and emma
Stone.
Female filmmakers Lynn Shelton
and Kelly Reichardt were also on the list.
The academy said it had
extended invitations to 322
artists and executives who have

distinguished themselves by their

contributions to theatrical motion
pictures.
academy President cheryl
Boone Isaacs, herself africanamerican, said it was gratifying
to acknowledge the extraordinary
range of talent in our industry.
This year, our branches have
recognised a more diverse and
inclusive list of filmmakers and
artists than ever before, she said.
as of the 2015 Oscars, there
were 6124 voting members of the
academy of motion Picture arts and
Sciences. AFP

TOMORROW
Music

Jazz and dinner. Enjoy jazz music and

a great dinner in a friendly musical
atmosphere. The Rendez-Vous
Restaurant, 340 Pyay Road 7:30-9:30pm

Language

Yangon Language and Cultural Exchange.

A great opportunity for you to learn and
practise your language skills in a fun and
friendly environment. Meet people from
all over the world and make new friends.
Smoothie Foodie, Anawrahta Street,
Lanmadaw 7-9pm

Kick boxing

Bando Kick Boxing Class. Military-style

workout for fitness, flexibility, stamina and
core strength. K5000 per session.Fitness
Wharf Studio, Ocean Center, Pyay Road,
9 Mile 6-7pm

IN PICTUREs

Got an event? | List it in Whats On! | whatsonmt@gmail.com

Photo: AFP/Oli
Scarf

Revellers listen to the band Age Of Glass perform in the Bimble Inn at the
Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm near the
village of Pilton in Somerset, southwest England, on June 29.

24 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to MandalaY
Flight

Days

Dep

MandalaY to Yangon
Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Yangon to HeHo
Arr

Y5 775

Daily

6:00

7:10

Y5 233

Daily

7:50

9:00

W9 515

6:00

7:25

W9 201

Daily

8:40

10:35

YH 917

Daily

6:10

8:30

YJ 891

1,2,3,5,6

8:40

10:35

YJ 891

1,2,3,5,6

6:20

8:25

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:50

10:45

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

8:35

K7 223

1,3,5

8:55

11:00

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

8:40

YH 918

Daily

8:30

10:25

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

7:40

6T 806

2,4,6

10:30

11:40

YJ 201

1,2,3

7:00

8:55

YJ 202

1,2,3

12:00

13:25

W9 201

Daily

7:00

8:25

YJ 761

1,2,4

13:10

17:00

W9201

7:00

8:25

YJ 212

15:00

16:25

8M 6603

9:00

10:10

YJ 212

15:00

16:55

YJ 601

11:00

12:25

YJ 602

15:40

17:35

YJ 211

5, 7

11:00

12:25

7Y 242

1,3,5

16:40

18:45

YJ 761

1,2,4

11:00

12:55

K7 225

2,4,6,7

16:50

19:00

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

14:00

YH 728

17:00

18:25

YH 737

3,5,7

11:00

13:10

W9 152/W97152

17:05

18:30

YH 727

11:30

13:40

Y5 776

Daily

17:10

18:20

W9 251

2,5

11:30

12:55

W9 211

17:10

19:15

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

16:25

YH 738

3,5,7

17:10

18:35

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

16:35

8M 6604

17:20

18:30

Y5 234

Daily

15:20

16:30

8M 903

1,2,4,5,7

17:20

18:30

W9 211

15:30

16:55

YH 730

2,4,6

17:45

19:10

W9 252

2,5

18:15

19:40

Yangon to naY pYi taw

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

naY pYi taw to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
7Y 131
YJ 891
K7 222
7Y 131
Y5 649
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 751
YJ 233
YH 737
YH 727
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129

Days
Daily
1,2,3,5,6
2,4,6,7
4,7
1,3,5
Daily
Daily
3,5
1,2,4
7
6
3,5,7
1
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6

Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:15
10:30
10:30
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:30
14:30
14:30
15:30

HeHo to Yangon
Arr
9:15
9:10
9:20
8:45
9:30
10:05
12:45
11:40
12:10
12:10
12:10
12:25
12:55
15:45
15:40
16:40

Yangon to MYeik
Flight
Y5 325
K7 319
6T 705
7Y 531
Y5 325
SO 201

Days
1,5
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
2,4,6
2
Daily

Dep
6:45
7:00
7:30
11:15
15:30
8:20

Days

Dep

Days
4,7
Daily
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,2,4
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
1
3,5,7
6
3,5
1,3,6

Dep
9:00
9:15
9:25
9:25
9:35
9:45
15:50
15:55
16:00
16:15
16:25
16:25
16:45
16:55

Arr
10:10
10:25
10:35
10:35
10:45
11:00
17:00
18:45
19:00
18:25
18:35
17:35
17:55
19:10

Arr
8:15
9:05
8:40
13:20
17:00
10:40

Air Bagan (W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

Air KBZ (K7)

Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (airport), 373766
(hotline). Fax: 372983

Asian Wings (YJ)

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640
Fax: 532333, 516654

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020

Flight
Y5 326
6T 706
7Y 532
K7 320
Y5 326
SO 202

Days
1,5
2,4,6
2,4,6
1,3,5,7
2
Daily

Dep
8:35
8:55
15:35
11:30
17:15
13:20

Arr
10:05
10:05
17:40
13:35
18:45
15:40

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Yangon Airways (YH)

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264
Fax: 652 533

FMI Air Charter (ND)

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545

APEX Airlines (SO)

sittwe to Yangon
Arr

Arr

K7 422

2,4,6

8:00

9:55

K7 423

2,4,6

10:10

11:30

7Y 413

1,3,5,7

10:30

12:20

7Y 414

1,3,5,7

12:35

13:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

12:55

W9 309

1,3,6

13:10

14:55

6T 611

Daily

11:45

12:55

6T 612

Daily

13:15

14:20

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

7:55

SO 101

Daily

7:00

8:00

ND 910

1,2,3,4,5

7:15

8:15

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

8:10

13:25

ND 105

1,2,3,4,5

10:45

11:40

ND 9102

1,2,3,4,5

8:35

9:35

ND 107

11:25

12:20

ND 104

1,2,3,4,5

9:20

10:15

ND 109

1,2,3,4,5

14:55

15:40

ND 106

10:00

10:55

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

2,4,6

8:00

8:55

K7 422

2,4,6

9:10

11:30

Yangon to tHandwe

Domestic Airlines

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

MYeik to Yangon

Yangon to sittwe
Flight

Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
YJ 891
W9 201
7Y 132
K7 223
YJ 762
7Y 242
K7 225
YH 728
YH 738
YJ 602
YJ 752
W9 129

tHandwe to Yangon

Tel:95(1) 533300 ~ 311

Fax : 95 (1) 533312

Air Mandalay (6T)

Tel: (+95-1) 501520, 525488,
Fax: (+95-1) 532275

Airline Codes
SO = APEX Airlines

ND 9109

1,2,3,4,5

17:00

18:00

ND 108

1,2,3,4,5

13:30

14:25

K7 422

ND 111

18:25

19:20

YJ 212

16:00

16:55

7Y 413

1,3,5

10:30

11:20

7Y 413

1,3,5

11:35

13:55

SO 102

Daily

18:00

19:00

ND 110

17:00

17:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

13:50

7Y 413

12:05

14:20

K7 = Air KBZ

ND 9110

1,2,3,4,5

18:20

19:20

7Y 413

11:00

11:50

W9 309

1,3,6

14:05

14:55

W9 = Air Bagan

Y5 421

1,3,4,6

15:45

16:40

Y5 422

1,3,4,6

16:55

17:50

Yangon to nYaung u

nYaung u to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YH 917

Daily

6:10

7:45

YH 918

Daily

7:45

10:25

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

7:50

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:05

10:45

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

7:50

K7 223

1,3,5

8:05

11:00

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

17:25

K7 225

2,4,6,7

17:40

19:00

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

17:10

W9 129

1,3,6

17:50

19:10

W9 129

1,3,6

15:30

17:35

7Y 242

1,3,5

17:25

18:45

W9 211

15:30

17:40

W9 129

15:30

17:35

Yangon to MYitkYina

Yangon to dawei

dawei to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

8:55

6T 806

2,4,6

9:10

11:40

YH 826

1,3.5.7

7:00

9:40

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

10:35

13:25

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

10:20

YH 827

1,3,5,7

11:30

13:55

YJ 233

11:00

15:10

YJ 234

15:25

W9 251

2,5

11:30

14:25

W9 252

2,5

16:45

Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

YH = Yangon Airways

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

K7 319

1,3,5,7

7:00

8:10

YH 634

2,4,6

12:15

13:25

YH 633

2,4,6

7:00

8:25

K7 320

1,3,5,7

12:25

13:35

6T = AirMandalay

SO 201

Daily

8:20

9:40

6T 708

3,5,7

14:15

15:15

FMI (ND) = FMI Air Charter

6T 707

3,5,7

10:30

11:30

SO 202

Daily

14:20

15:40

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

12:20

7Y 532

2,4,6

16:35

17:40

Yangon to lasHio
MYitkYina to Yangon

7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines

lasHio to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YJ 751

3,5

10:30

12:45

YJ 752

3,5

15:40

17:55

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

13:00

YJ 752

16:10

17:55

YJ 751

11:00

13:15

YH 730

2,4,6

16:45

19:10

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Yangon to putao

putao to Yangon

Flight

Days

18:15

YH 826

1,3,5,7

7:00

10:35

YH 827

1,3,5,7

10:35

13:55

19:40

W9 251

2,5

11:30

15:25

W9 252

2,5

15:45

19:40

YJ = Asian Wings

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday

the pulse 25

www.mmtimes.com

InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

Flights

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Days

Dep

Arr

PG 706
Daily
6:15
8M 335
Daily
7:40
TG 304
Daily
9:50
PG 702
Daily
10:30
TG 302
Daily
15:00
PG 708
Daily
15:15
8M 331
Daily
16:30
PG 704
Daily
18:20
Y5 237
Daily
19:00
TG 306
Daily
19:45
YANGON TO DON MUEANG

8:30
9:25
11:45
12:25
16:55
17:10
18:15
20:15
20:50
21:40

DD 4231
Daily
8:00
FD 252
Daily
8:30
FD 254
Daily
17:30
DD 4239
Daily
21:00
YANGON TO SINGAPORE

9:50
10:15
19:05
22:45

8M 231
Daily
8:25
Y5 2233
Daily
9:45
TR 2823
Daily
9:45
SQ 997
Daily
10:35
3K 582
Daily
11:15
MI 533
2,6
13:45
MI 519
Daily
17:30
3K 584
2,3,5
19:15
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

12:50
14:15
14:25
15:10
15:45
20:50
22:05
23:45

8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
MH 743
AK 503

11:50
12:50
16:30
20:05
23:45

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

1,2,3,5,6
7:50
Daily
8:30
Daily
12:15
Daily
15:45
Daily
19:30
YANGON TO BEIJING

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

BANGKOK TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

TG 303
Daily
7:55
PG 701
Daily
8:50
Y5 238
Daily
21:30
8M 336
Daily
10:40
TG 301
Daily
13:05
PG 707
Daily
13:40
PG 703
Daily
16:45
TG 305
Daily
17:50
8M 332
Daily
19:15
PG 705
Daily
20:15
DON MUEANG TO YANGON

8:50
9:40
22:20
11:25
14:00
14:30
17:35
18:45
20:00
21:30

DD 4230
Daily
6:20
FD 251
Daily
7:15
FD 253
Daily
16:20
DD 4238
Daily
19:30
SINGAPORE TO YANGON

7:05
8:00
17:00
20:15

TR 2822
Daily
7:20
Y5 2234
Daily
7:20
SQ 998
Daily
7:55
3K 581
Daily
8:55
MI 533
2,6
11:35
8M 232
Daily
13:50
MI 518
Daily
15:15
3K 583
2,3,5
17:05
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON

8:45
8:50
9:20
10:25
12:55
15:15
16:40
18:35

AK 504
MH 740
8M 502
MH 742
AK 502

8:00
11:15
13:50
14:50
19:00

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
17:50
BEIJING TO YANGON

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

CA 906
3,5,7
23:50 05:50+1
YANGON TO GUANGZHOU

CA 905
3,5,7
19:30
GUANGZHOU TO YANGON

22:50

8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056

3,6
8:40
1,5
14:40
2,4,7
14:15
TAIPEI TO YANGON

10:25
16:30
15:50

1,2,3,5,6
7:00
KUNMING TO YANGON

9:55

Flights

Flights

CI 7916
Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:25
1,5
17:30
YANGON TO TAIPEI

13:15
16:15
22:15

CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712

1,2,3,5,6
10:50
YANGON TO KUNMING

Arr

16:15

Flights

CI 7915

Arr

Flights

CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Daily
12:15
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 15:20
YANGON TO HANOI
Days

15:55
18:45
18:40

Dep

Arr

Days

MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Flights

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Arr

3
8:25
Daily
10:45
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:55
HANOI TO YANGON
Days

11:50
11:15
14:30

Dep

Arr

VN 956
1,3,5,6,7
19:10
21:30
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

VN 957
1,3,5,6,7
16:50
18:10
HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON

VN 942

VN 943

Flights

Flights

QR 919
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

2,4,7
14:25
YANGON TO DOHA

17:15

1,4,6
8:00
YANGON TO SEOUL

11:10

Arr

Arr

Flights

Flights

QR 918
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

KA 252
KA 250

Arr

Flights

Days

5
1,2,3,4,6,7

Arr

YANGON TO TOKYO

Flights

Days

NH 814

Daily

Dep

21:45

06:50+1

YANGON TO DHAKA

Flights

Days

BG 061
BG 061
Flights

Dep

1:30
1:10

1,6
4

Dep

15:35
13:45

YANGON TO INCHEON
Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Flights

Y5 251
7Y 305

8:05
12:50

2,4,6
1,5

YANGON TO GAYA

Flights

Days

8M 601
AI 236
Flights

Days

2
1,5

Dep

13:10
14:05

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days

AI 228
Flights

Dep

3,5,6
7:00
2
13:10
YANGON TO DELHI

AI 236
AI 701
Flights

6:15
11:00

1,5

Dep

14:05

YANGON TO MUMBAI

AI 773

Days

1,5

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 710

Days

Daily

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE

Flights

MI 533
Y5 2233

Days

2,6
1,2,4,5,6

Dep

15:55
7:50

MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights

FD 245

Days

Daily

Dep

12:45

MANDALAY TO KUNMING

Flights

MU 2030

Days

Daily

Dep

13:50

NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 722

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

19:30

Arr

Arr

8:20
15:05
Arr

Dep

Days

Dep

Flights

9:25
13:45

GAYA TO YANGON
Days

Dep

2
9:20
3,5,6
9:20
DELHI TO YANGON
Days

2
1,5

Dep

9:20
7:00

KOLKATA TO YANGON
Days

AI 227

1,5

Dep

10:35

MUMBAI TO YANGON

AI 675

Days

1,5

Dep

6:10

BANGKOK TO MANDALAY

Flights

Days

Daily

Dep

12:00

SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY

Y5 2234
MI 533

Days

Daily
2,6

Dep

7:20
11:35

DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

Flights

15:00

FD 244

Arr

Flights

Arr

12:30
10:40

Days

2,4,6
1,5

Flights

Flights

22:30

Dep

INCHEON TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

16:40

1,6
4

AI 235
8M 602

PG 709

Arr

Days

15:40
Arr

14:55
13:05

Days

Daily

Dep

10:50

KUNMING TO MANDALAY

MU 2029

Days

Daily

Dep

13:00

BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

Flights

PG 721

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

17:00

Air China (CA)

Tel: 666112, 655882

Air India

Tel: 253597~98, 254758, 253601. Fax 248175

Bangkok Airways (PG)

Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)

Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869

Condor (DE)

Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Dragonair (KA)

Tel: 255323 (ext: 107), 09-401539206

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Malaysia Airlines (MH)

Tel: 387648, 241007 (ext: 120, 121, 122)

Fax: 241124

Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305

Nok Airline (DD)

Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051

Qatar Airways (QR)

Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730

Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)

Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290

Thai Airways (TG)

Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086

Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International

BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern

Arr

10:15
14:35

16:30
20:50
14:15

11:00

Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

AK = Air Asia

Arr

Y5 252
7Y 306

Flights

Arr

Daily

Dep

DHAKA TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

Arr

TOKYO TO YANGON
Days

Arr

00:30+1
23:30

18:10
12:00

AI 235
AI 401

22:35

Dep

22:50
21:45

Arr

22:25
23:25

W9 608
4,7
17:20
PG 723
1,3,5,6
11:05
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON

16:30
19:50
15:05

4
1,2,3,5,6,7

Flights

BG 060
BG 060

16:10
15:05

Days

NH 813

17:00
15:10

W9 607
4,7
14:20
PG 724
1,3,5,6
13:10
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI
Flights

Flights

Tel: 09254049991~3

Vietnam Airlines (VN)

06:25+1

5:55
5:45

Flights

Air Asia (FD)

Arr

3,5,7
20:40
SEOUL TO YANGON

KA 251
KA 251

Tel: 255412, 413

Tiger Airline (TR)

13:25

KE 471
Daily
18:45
0Z 769
3,6
19:50
HONG KONG TO YANGON

All Nippon Airways (NH)

Arr

2,4,7
11:50
DOHA TO YANGON

0Z 770
4,7
0:35
9:10
KE 472
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
YANGON TO HONG KONG

International Airlines

Arr

Arr

12:0
12:30
Arr

12:20
13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

16:30
15:00
Arr

12:15

DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair
KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air
MU = China Eastern Airlines
NH = All Nippon Airways
PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways
SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
AI = Air India
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

Subject to change
without notice

Arr

12:50
Arr

19:00

Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday

4
5
6
7

=
=
=
=

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

26 Sport

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 30, 2015

SURFING

Senegal school makes waves

A

half century after its

waves were showcased in
the seminal surfing film
The Endless Summer, Dakar is becoming an essential stop for globe-trotting boarders
looking for the perfect ride.
the documentary, first released
in 1964 and credited with sparking
worldwide interest in the sport, follows two californians as they search
the planet for the best summer surfing starting in the Senegalese
capital.
But it was decades before locals
started noticing the citys now popular surf spots, including the long,
powerful ngor right wave featured in
uS director Bruce Browns movie.
When I started surfing, there
were just two Senegalese who practised with quite a few expatriates,
says 37-year-old Senegalese pro-surfer
Oumar Seye, eyes pink from the sea
water.
there was no club, no federation ... We would watch the tourists
surfing, and thats what gave us the
desire.
Seye is a native of ngor, a fishing
community which, along with yoff
and Ouakam, is the home of Senegals
ethnic lebou community.
When he was little, he would help
an uncle selling sandwiches and
drinks on the beach.
It was the place where all the
surfers met ... Whenever I had the
chance to go into the water, I would
surf. thats how I learned, says Seye,
who rode his first wave at age 13.
One of the pioneers of the sport in
a country with 700 kilometres (435
miles) of coastline and 13.5 million
inhabitants, Seye today takes part in
shows and competitions, which he
also organises, drumming up sponsorship to pursue his passion.
I am the first black surfer to get
a pro contract, says Seye, who has
founded a surf school of 43 members
aged from three to 64 and a shop
selling famous brands in surf clothing and equipment.
nine-year-old Benjamin Vercammen, one of Seyes students, has been
surfing for a year with his brother
alexandre, one year his junior and
barely bigger than his board.
riding the waves prevents him
from being locked up at home,

Oumar Seye instructs a surf class off the Senagalese coast. Photo: AFP

Benjamin says, shivering with cold after emerging from the water.
franco-cameroonian noura Diwouka, aged 15 and a surfer of three
years, is among the most experienced
in the water.
In the sport, there is more feeling,
more speed, she says, but she has no
intention of going pro, insisting that
its just for fun.
aymeric Senghor recalls first encountering board sports 20 years ago
on a trip to the beach in Bel-air, a
rocky plateau jutting into the bay on
Dakars east coast.
there he fell in love with bodyboarding, in which the surfer rides
a short, rectangular piece of foam on
the face or curl of the wave, usually
lying down and propelled by flippers.

the thin and sharp-witted

35-year-old also has a school and his
own competition, whose second edition was held in May at the almadies
peninsula, a 10-kilometre stretch of
coastline with 15 popular surf breaks.
Bodyboarding, quicker to pick up
than surfing, is hugely popular but
could develop better with more
support, says Senghor, suddenly distracted by the cries of a crowd watching a competitor powered by a strong
wave.
yan Dagassan, of the Senegal Surfing federation, tells afP that while
surfing has its origins in Polynesia,
Dakarites have long practised one of
its cousins, stand-up paddleboarding.
the people of ngor have been doing it since time immemorial on old

boards and with dug-out canoe paddles, he says.

as board sports become increasingly popular in Senegal, Dagassan
says there are now eight clubs with
more than 280 members and a national championship. Senegal also
enters international competitions,
where it usually ranks well.
We have no money and we have
never had any funding, but in 2014,
for the first time, we participated in
the african championships and we
got second and third place, Dagassan
says.
the popularity of these local surfers has inspired young Senegalese
who want to emulate them.
the sport, nevertheless, remains
largely the preserve of foreigners on

Dakars beaches where local families,

sunbathers and the curious prefer to
watch rather than take part.
a big reason is the prohibitive
cost. In a country where the minimum monthly wage is less than
37,000 francs (uS$62), a new board
can set you back up to 400,000 francs
while lessons cost between 10,000
and 15,000 francs.
But its not just the money. apart
from fishermen, most Senegalese
are happy to look at the waves rather
than going in to experience them,
says Seye.
now through the surf schools, we
teach swimming, and surfing in Senegal is about to explode because there
we have strong momentum, he adds.
AFP

FANTASY SPORTS

Like the real game, fantasy sports are now worth billions
fantaSy sports were once just a fun
way for diehard fans to express their
love of the game together with other
zealots, without actually getting out
on the field themselves.
now they are a multi-billion-dollar
business whose tech-savvy clientele increasingly drive how the pro leagues
operate and the way big games are
broadcast.
the industrys ascendancy was on
display at the fantasy Sports trade
associations summer conference
this week, where sports giants like
broadcaster eSPn and the national
Basketball association championed
fantasy leagues and promised more
fantasy-friendly steps to feed the
boom.
In fantasy sports, a participant creates his own team, selecting players
from a real-world sports league like
the nBa, the national football league
or englands Premier league football.
as real games are played, a fantasy
team competes and is ranked against
others based on the actual-game performance of its players.
fantasy competitors once matched
their dream teams against others to

suss out their nose for talent and for

simple bragging rights.
today, with 51.6 million americans
participating in fantasy sports leagues,
according to the fSta, players can pay
to join competitions that award prizes
of uS$1 million or more.
fantasy players spend an average
$465 per year on their imaginary competitions, up markedly from $95 in
2012, according to the market research
firm Ipsos.
that is a big change from the old
days when fantasy players were dismissed as statistics geeks and relegated to the fringes.
When there were any mentions at
all, it was sort of a sneering disrespect
for fantasy sports, fSta president
Paul charchian said in an interview.
now we are coveted.
fantasy sports date back to the
1980s when a small group of baseballloving academics and writers established rotisserie Baseball.
after picking their teams, they
would pore over the scores and other
data published in newspapers after
games, ranking their imaginary teams
against others.

But in the fast-evolving era of

smartphones, big data and instant
news, todays contests are a kind of
fantasy sports on steroids.
and the industry got a boost when,
in 2006, the uS congress which has
mostly banned online gambling

When there were

any mentions at
all, it was sort of a
sneering disrespect
for fantasy sports.
Paul Charchian
FSTA President

ruled fantasy sports did not fall under

that category, allowing a surge in playing for money.
a typical fantasy contestant now
keeps one eye on an actual game and
the other on a tablet or smartphone

that aggregates fantasy-league points

in real time, spitting out the standings
of virtual teams play-by-play.
Many fantasy game sites can send
alerts if a key player scores a touchdown, or gives up a goal.
competitions have spread from
baseball, basketball and football to
sports like golf and rugby. contestants can pay to play for an entire
season, or just an evenings worth of
games.
Delivering that kind of action has
made two leading fantasy companies,
DraftKings and fanDuel, each worth
an estimated $1 billion.
Showcasing the industrys growing clout, DraftKings has an exclusive
marketing partnership with Major
league Baseball while fanDuel has a
similar contract with the nBa.
Survey data suggest the industry
has hit the marketing sweet spot,
with more than half of players in
the coveted 18-34 age group and
with above-average incomes and
education.
the real sports industry is taking
them more seriously because, according to Ipsos, they watch more live

sports and consume more sports news

than others.
that allows real sports leagues to
sell fantasy players more premiumviewing products and to command
higher rates from eSPn and other
broadcasters due to higher ratings.
those broadcasters in turn are able to
attract more money from advertisers.
Sports media has responded by reporting more news sought out by fantasy leagues, such as injuries that keep
a real player out of his team lineup
which hits any fantasy team with that
player on its roster.
rotoWire is a news service that
peppers subscribers with the latest on
which players have a sore shoulder or
ankle inflammation, for example.
Bob Vorwald, executive producer
of WGn-tV in chicago, is pushing his
sports announcers to do more fantasy-oriented news: every television
station programmer wants to get a
younger audience, but were not there
yet.
eSPn senior producer Seth Markman said the network was working
to fully integrate fantasy into all
programming. AFP

Sport 27

www.mmtimes.com
ASIA

FOOTBALL

Demba Ba
joins Chinas
Shanghai
Shenhua

ormer Chelsea forward

Demba Ba has signed for
Didier Drogbas old club
Shanghai Shenhua in a
deal that was reported
June 28 to be a possible record for
the Chinese Super League.
The Senegal international was
reported to have signed a threeyear deal worth 16 million euros
(US$17.9 million), Xinhua news
agency said on its website, after
the Shanghai club confirmed the
30-year-old would be joining.
The figure would eclipse the previous CSL record of 15 million euros paid in January by champions
Guangzhou evergrande for Brazilian ricardo Goulart.
The Shanghai club did not confirm the figure, Xinhua added, referring to a possible record transfer fee.
Shanghai Shenhua who are
sometimes called Shanghai Greenland Shenhua did not reveal any
financial details in a statement released on its website June 27 announcing Bas arrival at the club.
Ba, who underwent a medical on
June 28, made the switch to China
from Turkish first division side Be-

IN PICTURES

siktas, where he scored 27 goals in

44 games last season, the statement
added.
The journeyman striker, who also
played for West Ham United and
Newcastle United in the Premier
League, had been tipped for a return
to england. West Bromwich Albion
were understood to be the leading
contenders for his signature.
But he will instead line up
alongside former everton star and
Socceroo Tim Cahill and mali international mohamed Sissoko, who
arrived in China from La Liga side
Levante after spells at Paris SaintGerman and Liverpool.
Ivory Coast veteran Drogba who
left Chelsea on a free transfer at the
end of last season and his former
teammate at Stanford Bridge, Nicolas Anelka, both played for Shanghai.
The CSL is now among the biggest spenders in world football
leagues. It was second only to the
Premier League during the recently
closed winter transfer window, according to statistics from German
website transfermarkt.
It is also currently the highestattended football league in Asia.
AFP

Myanmars representatives at the AFC U14 Girls Regional

Championship will bring home bronze after beating
Malaysia 6-2 in the third-place playoff on June 28. The girls
had to settle for third-place after losing on penalties in their
semi-final against hosts and eventual champions Vietnam.

Photo: Facebook/MFF

SEA GAMES

Sepaktakraw player quits after deadly crash

SINGAPoreS Azreen Sairudin has
quit sepak takraw after he was seriously injured and lost his younger
brother in a motorbike crash during
the Southeast Asian Games, said a report released yesterday.
The 25-year-old told The New Paper
it was too painful to continue in the
volleyball-style sport after the crash on
June 7, a day before Singapores first
match at the multi-sport SeA Games.
Azreen was giving his brother Aqil,
21, a lift when they were both flung from
his motorbike in the early-hours accident on one of the city-states highways.
I can still hear my brothers voice

Its like a bad

nightmare I cant
wake up from.
Azreen Sairudin
Sepaktakraw player

in my head, Azreen told the newspaper. We were both lying on the

ground and he told me, Azreen, Im in
so much pain.

Those were his last words.

Azreen broke an arm and a little
finger in the crash and suffered severe
bruising and abrasions which required
skin grafts. He spent 13 days in hospital, including three in intensive care.
His psychological wounds remain
acute after the loss of a brother with
whom he was so close that they used
to share a bed at the familys threeroom public housing apartment.
Its like a bad nightmare I cant
wake up from, Azreen said, adding,
I still cry every day when I think of
him. AFP

MYANMAR NATIONAL LEAGUE

Yangon United FC 2 - 1

MYANMAR FOOTBALL FEDERATION

Myanmar National League - 1

Pos

Team

Zaw Min Tun 40

Csar Augusto 47

Pld

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Yangon United FC

10

10

32

+23

30

Ayeyawady United FC

10

21

+12

22

Yadanarbon FC

10

17

10

+7

20

Magwe FC

10

19

11

+8

19

KBZ FC

10

13

10

+3

16

Chin United FC

10

11

+2

15

Nay Pyi Taw FC

10

12

-4

11

Zeyar Shwe Myay FC

10

12

22

-10

Hantharwady United FC

10

10

-3

10

Rakhine United FC

10

10

24

-14

11

Zwekapin United FC

10

16

-10

12

Manaw Myay FC

10

21

-14

Team

Kyaw Min Oo 9

Rakhine United FC 1 - 4

GD

Pts

Southern Myanmar FC

10

19

17

22

GFA FC

10

18

13

20

Horizon FC

10

25

16

19

Mawyawadi FC

10

14

11

17

Dagon FC

10

18

10

16

Myawady FC

10

22

21

14

Best United FC

10

14

25

-11

University FC

10

16

30

-4

Silver Stars FC

10

22

-14

10

Pong Gan FC

10

10

42

-32

Zeyar Shwe Myay FC

Bernard Achaw (OG) 3
Victor Coto Ortega 41, 51
Thet Paing Oo 62

Lar Ceu Luai 67

Manaw Myay FC 0 - 1

Nay Pyi Taw FC

Aung Myo Thet 72

Magwe FC 0 - 0

Chin United FC

KBZ FC 2 - 2

Yadanarbon FC

Kyaw Zeyar Win 25

Giorgi Tsimakuridze 41

Keith Martu Nah 8

Ye Ko Oo 90+4

Hantharwady United 0 - 0

Myanmar National League - 2

Ayeyawady United FC

Zwekapin United FC

Pong Gan FC

3-0

Silver Stars FC

Mawyawadi FC

1-1

Dagon FC

GFA FC

5-0

Best United FC

University FC

1-3

Myawady FC

Horizon FC

1-1

Southern Myanmar FC

Sport
28 THE MYANMAR TIMES JunE 30, 2015

SPORT EDITOR: Matt Roebuck | matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com

Myanmar National League

results roundup
SPORT 27

Mixing with the best

MIXeD MaRTIal aRTS

MaTT ROebuck
matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com

ORLD-CLASS mixed martial

arts (MMA) will explode in Yangon on July 18 when Brazilian
Bibiano The Flash Fernandes
defends his One Championship
World Bantamweight title against Toni Dynamite Tauru of Finland.
The remainder of the Kingdom of Warriors
undercard at Thuwunna Indoor Stadium is yet
to be confirmed, but it will also feature Myanmar fighters who are looking to migrate their
skills from lethwei to become mixed martial-arts
champions.
Defending champion Fernandes is currently ranked fifth in the world at
Bantamweight level and has
reached as high as second according to Fight Matrix, an
independent ranking system recognised across
the sport.
His Finnish opponent has a ranking
of 58th, but has risen
through the rankings since he started his career in
2011 with a draw
and a loss. Since
that unconvincing start, Tauru
has gone undefeated and will
enter the cage
on July 18 with a
10-1-1 record.
The
Finn
has now established himself a
grappler with a
reputation, having won six of his
last seven fights
by submission using the rear naked
choke hold.
Fernandes who
comes to MMA from a
tradition of jiu-jitsu won
his last championship fight us-

ing the same method and so fans watching at the

stadium, on SkyNet or internationally via FoxSports and ESPN Star Sports, can expect the combatants to fight for dominance on the ground.
One Championship is one of only a handful of
organisations to count three-or-more performers
who are ranked among the top 15 worldwide
and the only one not based in the United States.
Based in Singapore, it focuses on the Asian market and included Manny Pacquiao among its
shareholders.
This is a new chapter in MMA in Asia, said
Victor Cui, chief executive officer of One Championship at a June 26 launch for the event.
One Championships message is one of potential and respect for the tradition and history
that built the foundations for the worlds fastest-growing sport, said Cui.
He believes mixed MMA provides
the opportunity for Asian nations to
develop world champions of their
own rather than adopting those
of the West.
For the last two or three
decades Asia has been an
importer of sport Beckham, Woods, Federer and
Hamilton, weve taken
them and adopted them.
We watched sports in all
of these time zones; followed the Premier
League at
2am;

basketball at seven on a Sunday morning The

One Championship brings sport to primetime in
our own time zones, he said.
Cui added that although Singapore may have
a Formula One event and host the Womens Tennis Association Tour Finals, it will be a long time
before the dream of hailing a local champion is
realised.
Asia is the home of martial arts. There is no
need to explain the traditions of martial arts and
combat sports to the public here, added Cui.
With 5000 years of history behind us, we now
a chance to compete with and challenge the worlds
best. If we want to see a champion from Myanmar,
were close. We wont be there tomorrow, but were
a lot closer.
Of the One Championships seven current
division champions, four are from Asia,
including Dejdamron Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand in the strawweight category.
One Championship delivers
heroes we can relate to, Asian
heroes that we can showcase
to the world, said Cui.
We build local heroes
by growing the sport here
instead of sending money to Europe. The most
important factor isnt
money, its not even skill
and natural talent: Its
heart, and the
desire to
win.

When I watch Lethwei, those fighters show heart

and that will breed success.
I know how tough these guys are and Ive
seen some of the toughest fighters in the world,
added the CEO.
Recognising the need to develop traditional
martial arts as a breeding ground for their sport,
One Championship is working with mixed martial arts.
MMA already includes muay thai, jiu-jitsu,
taekwondo, karate and others. Now, lethwei will
be a part of it, giving our local fighters a chance
to show their skills to the world, said Sai Zaw
Zaw, director of the MTBF.
One local fighter who means to seize that
chance is Thein Oo.
Ive never had this opportunity before so I
am not letting it go. I hope to travel
around the world with my fight
career. If I become a champion, I will be able to support
my family financially,
said the fighter, who is
lined up to appear on
July 18.
The most important thing is that we
are building up the
fighters to succeed,
added Cui. We
must allow Myanmar athletes to
compete at the level they are ready
for. The worst
thing we can do is
bring a guy with
20 years MMA experience to fight a
guy with none.
Tickets range
from K10,000 to
cageside seats at
K200,000.
The likenesses of the
July 18 combants for
the One Championship
belt were captured
on watermelons for the
event launch. Photos: Matt
Roebuck/Aung Khant