1. law, govt and politics
2. government
3. parliament

EPA
PE
R
NATIONAL: FARMERS SEEK JUSTICE FROM UN ✪4
First INDEPENDENT English daily
www.elevenmyanmar.com
THURSDAY, January 22, 2014
INSIDE
Worsening health
NATIONAL
Restarting clinics last month, MSF has treated over 3,000 patients in Rakhine State
A woman holds a
Rakhine flag to
welcome President
Thein Sein to Sittwe in
December.
President urges education
law rethink in face of
protests
✪2
BUSINESS
Illegal trade suppresses
official trade volume:
commerce minister
✪5
ASEAN+
EPA
Creaking education
system pushes students
overseas
✪7
LIFESTYLE
DPA, MYANMAR ELEVEN
CONDITIONS for patients in
Myanmar’s western province of
Rakhine have worsened since the
expulsion of medical aid group
Doctors Without Borders (MSF),
the group said Wednesday after
restarting medical clinics in the
area.
The group was expelled by
authorities in February after treating victims from both sides of
clashes between Buddhist locals
and members of the Muslim ethnic Royingya community.
“We learn that, during our
suspension, just a few patients
received medical care from government,” said Reshma Adatia,
operational adviser to MSFHolland on Myanmar.
“It’s like we have to start from
a minus situation.”
MSF is also the largest provider of HIV/AIDS care in Myanmar,
currently treating over 35,000
HIV patients nationwide, as well
as 3,000 people for tuberculosis.
Outside assistance is deemed
necessary given that the country’s public spending on healthcare is below 10 per cent of gross
domestic product which is estimated at around US$57 billion.
The group restarted primary
health clinics on December 17
after talks with the government.
In the past four weeks it has
treated more than 3,480 outpatients and consulted more than
550 pregnant women, MSF said
on Tuesday.
MSF also provides healthcare
to all ethnic groups in Shan and
Kachin states as well as Yangon,
in the mission started in 1992. It
offers services including basic
healthcare, reproductive care,
emergency referrals, and malaria
treatment. Since 2004, MSF has
treated more than 1.2 million
people across Rakhine State for
malaria.
Through primary clinics in
Rakhine State, the group hopes
to extend medical care to Tens of
thousands of people.
MSF has worked in Rakhine
state since 1992 to provide basic
healthcare, reproductive care,
emergency referrals, and tuberculosis and HIV care. MSF has
also treated over 1.2 million
malaria patients in the state
since 2004. All medical services
have been provided based purely
on the severity of individuals’
medical need.
On the opening of the clinic,
Martine Flokstra, MSF Myanmar
Operational Adviser in
Amsterdam, welcomed the progress it has made so far, referring
to the negotiation with the government.
“There is space to do more,
space we at MSF are willing and
able to fill,” said Flokstra. “We
hope to continue this dialogue
with the authorities to ensure
that those who need it most in
Rakhine state are able to access
the healthcare they need.”
Among the first batch of outpatients, numbering 3,480, they
are predominately people with
watery diarrhoea, respiratory
infections, and patients with
chronic conditions who used to
get the medications they need to
manage their disease from MSF
Holland before those services
were suspended.
After the forced suspension in
February, MSF Holland has
worked together with the
Ministry of Health in Rakhine by
providing medicine and personnel to support mobile primary
health care teams in Sittwe and
Pauktaw Townships, and continued its support of HIV patients in
Buthidaung and Maungdaw.
Throughout the 9-month period MSF also continued to provide
direct care and treatment to
more than 35,000 HIV/AIDS
patients, and more than 3,000
tuberculosis patients, most of
whom are also HIV positive,
across Myanmar.
Myanmar’s king of laughs
✪10
2
NATIONAL
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
President urges education law
rethink in face of protests
MYANMAR ELEVEN, AFP
Myanmar
students
start their
march in
Mandalay.
AFP
PRESIDENT Thein Sein sent a
message to the parliament on
January 20 requesting that parliament reconsider the National
Education Law following
demands from students and
teachers.
In his message to parliament,
the president mentioned that
there are stakeholders who
demand decentralisation of education policies, the elimination of
the National Educational
Commission, the freedom to
form students and teacher associations and the promotion of
ethnic minority literature in
schools.
The president also said that
since the Ministry of Education
has not been able to fulfil the
demands of these stakeholders
and because the law is still not
enforced in practice, the legislation should consider amending
it.
He sent the message on the
same day that dozens of students started a 575-km march
from Mandalay to Yangon in protest of the law. They renewed the
protest as the government did
not act to complete their
demands within 60 days.
The Union parliament
approved the National Education
Law on September 30, 2014.
Forty-six per cent of the law’s
provisions were drawn the parliament, and remaining 54 per cent
were drawn by the Ministry of
Education.
On Tuesday dozens of young
campaigners began an unauthorised cross-country protest march
to the commercial hub Yangon,
in a show of defiance by students, who have historically been
at the forefront of political activism in the former junta-run
nation.
Protesters said the statement
- which suggested adding “inclusive education” to the law without elaborating on who would be
affected - fell short of their
demands.
“It’s not enough. We need a
genuine way to change,” Phyo
Phyo Aung, secretary of the All
Burma Federation of Student
Unions, told AFP by phone from
the central town of Kyaukse as
around a hundred protesters
made their way south from the
second city of Mandalay.
Students, who staged almost
a week of rallies in November
over the law which they say
curbs academic freedom,
renewed their campaign Tuesday,
saying that government had
failed to meet their demands for
talks.
They want the law altered to
include free and compulsory
education until children reach
their early teens, permission to
form student and teacher unions,
and teaching in ethnic minority
languages.
Myanmar was rocked by massive student-led demonstrations
against authoritarianism in 1988
that propelled Aung San Suu Kyi
into the democracy fight, but
were ended with a brutal military
crackdown.
Outright army rule ended in
2011 and the country has seen
Western sanctions largely
dropped in response to reforms,
including releasing most political
prisoners and allowing Suu Kyi
into parliament.
President’s response to six-party meeting proposal welcomed
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Lawmakers anticipate the
six-party political talks soon,
following President Thein Sein’s
response to parliament’s proposal.
“When I read the message of
the President, it reflected his
goodwill, but it took two months
for him to issue it. I found his
words on the six-party meeting
to be a good sign. He wrote that
the parliament was the most
responsible body to deal with
this matter. There are different
opinions within parliament on
the proposal for a six-party
meeting. Some say we must
rely on these six figures, while
others say a meeting including
only these six figures would
silence the different voices of
the parliament,” Myint Tun said.
The proposal for a six-party
meeting was submitted to the
Union parliament in November
by MP Myint Tun to the Union
parliament and was later
approved.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National League
for Democracy (NLD), said on
January 20 that she will later
officially respond to the president’s message.
In his response to the proposal to hold a six-party talk,
President Thein Sein said the
meeting must be acceptable to
civic organisations, to political
forces and to the public.
Some interpret the president’s message as evidence that
he will continue to delay the sixparty meeting.
Myint Tun considered it differently.
“I suppose the president
wants to lay down detailed prin-
ciples the people and political
forces long for. The MPs must
gather these points. If these six
figures meet, the right answer
will appear,” the MP said.
“The parliament and the
people want the six-party talk
to go ahead. The 14-party and
48-party talks were heavily criticised. The parliament already
approved the six-party talks, so
it should happen soon. Truth be
told, six-party meetings should
be held from time to time,
always with the same six figures. If they do this, they can
win much support from the
people,” Myint Tun said.
The six-party talks were
proposed after President initiated political talks on October
31. Some called it a “show
business” given that each of
the 14 participants were given
only 10 minutes to speak their
mind.
Suu Kyi herself proposed
four-party to involve the president, parliament, the commander-in-chief of Defence
Services. The six-party talks
will involve the President, the
Lower Houseparliament speaker, the Upper House speaker,
the chairperson of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD), the MP representing all ethnic groups and
the Commander-in-Chief of the
Defence Services.
Aye Maung was chosen by
ethnic parties to represent
them at the six-party meeting.
“Fourteen ethnic parties
held discussions about tasks to
be done in the future. The outcomes of these discussions will
be submitted to the speaker of
the Union parliament,” said Aye
Maung.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
3
National
4
NEWS
DIGEST
Activists protest
Letpadaungtaung
mine in Yangon
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
Myanmar monk’s UN whore rant
“could hurt Buddhism”
Seventy eigh lawyers were
suspended or disbarred for
violating codes of ethics between
2011 and 2014, said Deputy
Attorney General Tun Tun Oo.
Tun Tun Oo spoke in response to
a question by lower house MP Mi
Myint Than during a parliamentary
session in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday.
The MP asked whether lawyers
associations and bar councils could
be established in various states and
regions so that the public could hire
lawyers in criminal or civil cases.
“Local associations can apply
for registration at their relevant
departments under the law for
association registration. Therefore,
lawyers can also apply to their
respective townships, districts,
regions and states for the formation
of a lawyers’ associations,” said Tun
Tun Oo.
However, he stressed the need
for lawyers to follow codes of ethics.
He said complaints could be
filed against lawyers who breach the
codes of lawyers’ ethics, which
would lead to investigations and
legal action taken against such
lawyers.
He did not mention whether
such action had also been taken
against government lawyers.
One ministry’s office
to become museum
The Myanmar Investment
Commission (MIC) has given
permission to 20 foreign and local
investment firms, including
Anawmar Art Group Co Ltd, to rent
the offices of several ministries.
One will be turned into a
museum and the rest will be used
for other purposes. They will be
leased under the build-operatetransfer (BOT) agreement.
The MIC decision was
announced on January 16. It said
the permits are granted after
receiving recommendations and
comments from regional or state
governments and relevant
ministries.
Wirathu
REUTERS
A Myanmar Buddhist monk
who called a UN human rights
envoy a “whore” has violated his
monastic code and could damage his religion, another prominent monk said.
Wirathu denounced Yanghee
Lee, the UN special rapporteur
on human rights in Myanmar, in
a speech in Yangon on Friday,
after she questioned draft laws
that critics say discriminate
against women and non-Buddhists.
“Just because you hold a position in the United Nations
doesn’t make you an honourable
woman. In our country, you are
just a whore,” Wirathu told a
cheering crowd of several hundred people in Yangon on Friday.
The monk also accused Lee of
bias towards Rohingya Muslims,
a stateless minority in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine.
“You can offer your arse to the
kalars if you so wish but you are
not selling off our Rakhine State,”
he said. Kalars is a derogatory
word for people of South Asian
descent.
His speech was condemned
by Thawbita, a leading member
of the progressive Saffron
Revolution Buddhist Monks
Network in Mandalay, where
Wirathu is also based.
“The words used that day are
very sad and disappointing. It is
an act that could hurt Buddhism
very badly,” Thawbita told
Reuters on Tuesday.
The network was formed by
Yanghee Lee
monks who helped lead the 2007
Saffron Revolution, a nationwide
democracy uprising brutally
crushed by the military. It is
influential among educated
Buddhists, but has little power.
A senior official at the
Ministry of Religious Affairs told
Reuters there were no plans to
act against Wirathu.
“Of course, he has the right
to express his opinion but he
shouldn’t have used these
terms,” said the official, who
requested anonymity due to the
sensitivity of the issue. “It can
tarnish the image of our religion
among those who don’t really
understand its essence.”
Famed for his fiery speeches,
Wirathu belongs to a radical
anti-Islamic group whose monks
EPA
78 lawyers suspended
or fired in four years
REUTERS
A group of democracy activists
marched in protest of the
Letpadaungtaung copper mine
project and Wanbao, the Chinese
company that operates the project,
on January 20.
The protestors expressed their
lack of confidence in the Myanmar
government, which they said
protects Wanbao and kills Myanmar
citizens.
Some of the activists were
arrested.
“We marched from Pyay Road to
the Dagon Township court peacefully.
We were arrested peacefully,” said a
protestor Than Swe who was among
the arrested.
The death of Khin Win during a
protest in December sparked a series
of protests. Days after the incident,
protests were staged outside the
Chinese embassy in Yangon. Earlier
this month, six people were charged
for the unautorised protests.
Khin Win was killed on December
22 when police opened fire on
protesters trying to stop the mine
company building a fence in territory
disputed with local farmers.
preach that Muslims will one
day overrun Myanmar.
Buddhism is the country’s predominant religion and its monks
are revered.
A quasi-civilian government
now runs Myanmar after nearly
half a century of hardline military rule. But its reforms have
been marred by deadly religious
clashes, with rights activists
warning that hate speech could
foment further violence.
Lee responded indirectly to
Wirathu’s remarks in a statement
released by her office on Monday.
“During my visit I was personally subjected to the kind of
sexist intimidation that female
human rights defenders experience when advocating on controversial issues,” she said.
Myanmar farmers seek help from UN
Ye Yint Aung
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Shwebo
Kantbalu farmers’ lawyer is
seeking the United Nations’
help, saying it is difficult to find
justice in the home country.
“We are going to write the
report on Kantbalu farmers’
issue by the end of February.
The translated version will be
submitted to the UN before
March 25,” said Thein Than Oo,
a law expert, while meeting with
the farmers.
He said that the petition
would be submitted through the
Global Justice Centre.
He noted that farmers are in
a worse condition even when
the nation is undergoing democratic changes. Many farmers
have been sued and imprisoned
since the incumbent government took office, he said. In the
agro-based country like
Mynamar, there remains a big
gap and poor farmers are generally ignored.
More than 10,000 acres of
farmlands in Kantbalu
Township, Sagaing Region, were
grabbed to implement the
Army’s Sugarcane Project at the
time of previous government
era.
“I’m sorry when I heard a
farmer’s voice saying that they
were hopeless. As for justice,
the constitution must be
amended. According to the current constitution, the judicial
pillar is not free and fair,” he
added.
With the aims to know the
international community about
taking responsibility and giving
pledges, the report to be submitted to UN will include
Kantbalu farmers’ affair and
Letpadaungtaung issue.
“13,000 acres of farmland
were grabbed. Although we
negotiated with the authorities
again and again, they broke out
their promise. Afterwards, the
farmers were being charged and
sentenced. Due to the reasons,
the farmers’ lives are getting
worse and worse. When Thura
Shwe Mann (Union Speaker)
visited there, we tried to submit
him the problem but we faced
obstruction to do so,” said farmer Than Htike.
Among laws related to land
ownership enacted in successive era, the 2012 Land Law is
the worst for farmers, critics
said. They viewed that the law
not only failed to solve existing
problems but also invited more
troubles.
Thein Than Oo reviewed that
to effectively solve the farmers’
problems, it was very important
that a farmer union be established.
In August, about 1,000
farmers from Kantbalu
Township staged a protest to
ask for the return of confiscated lands and fair trials. Earlier,
56 farmers were given prison
sentences of up to two years
following protests against confiscation of land by the state
and military.
In the township, it was
reported that over 450 farmers
faced various charges last year.
5
BUSINESS
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
Illegal trade suppresses official
trade volume:commerce minister
Myanmar designates five-year
transition period of stock market
Commerce minister
Win Myint giving
speech at the SocioEconomic Life
Improvement
Meeting.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MYANMAR ELEVEN
COMMERCE minister Win
Myint said the huge volume of
illegal trade in Myanmar is
responsible for the country’s low
trade figures compared to China
and Thailand. The minister
spoke at the SME Development
and Socio-Economic Life
Improvement Meeting on
January 20.
“Myanmar is the country with
the lowest tax revenue in the
region. Our trade volume is also
the lowest compared to neighbouring countries. This is
because of illegal trade. Much
illegal trade takes place at the
borders with China and
Thailand. Our trade volume is
about US$1 billion lower than
Thailand’s and over US$1 billion
lower than China’s,” said the
minister.
Myanmar’s total trade volume
in the 2010-2011 fiscal year was
US$15 billion, and it rose to $25
billion in the 2013-2014 fiscal
year. For the 2014-2015 fiscal
year, as of the first week of
January, Myanmar’s trade volume is $21 billion.
However, Myanmar’s import
volume is higher than its export
volume because many materials
needed for foreign investment
firms must be imported from
foreign countries.
Illegal trade and commodity
imports have been seized by the
Customs Department, as well as
by mobile teams organised by
the Ministry of Commerce and
related departments along sea
routes and border trade routes.
“Illegal trade affects consumer protection, those in the market who operate legally and pay
taxes, as well as local SMEs,”
said the minister.
Myanmar’s trade deficit
before the end of the 2014-2015
fiscal year is more than $3.6 billion, which is higher than last
year’s deficit, according to the
Ministry of Commerce.
AFP
EMG
The Securities and Exchange
Commission of Myanmar has already
designated a five-year transition for
Stock Exchange Certificates Market
(SECM).
“It [period] may be increased or
reduced. Under the transition period,
SECM will be under the Finance
Ministry. The expected transition
period could be five years. But the
period may be increased or reduced.
At the moment, the process seems
quite successful.
“Although there are some pending
issues which we need to inform the
Finance Ministry to get permission.
But in accordance with the law, SECM
is the SECM. The Finance Ministry
needs to provide assistance to SECM.
Currently, we need experience and
we have weak points. If the Securities
Exchange succeeds gradually, the
current situation may change,” said
Dr Maung Maung Thein, chairman of
SECM.
The Union Parliament enacted the
law of Stock Exchange Certificates in
2013.
The exchange will be established
with a 51 per cent stake held by
Myanmar Economic Bank and 49 per
cent by Japan-based Daiwa Group
and Japan Exchange Group. The
bilateral agreement was signed last
December.
It is learnt that the stock exchange
market will be launched in October
this year.
People walk past a building in downtown Yangon where
Myanmars government hopes to locate the countrys first
stock exchange, in Yangon.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Chicken and eggs imported
through Myanmar-Chinese border area will be analysed over
bird flu concerns starting this
month.
Myanmar’s Livestock
Breeding and Veterinary
Department (LBVD), in co-operation with UN’s World Food
Programme, will inspect all
poultry products for bird flu
imported through trade routes
along the border till the end of
the year.
The imports of poultry products and the effects of the bird
flu will be studied to prepare for
countermeasures.
The officials from the
Ministry of Health, poultry suppliers and dealers will also join
hands in inspecting the import-
ed poultry products.
“Firstly, we will analyse and
study the causes of the disease.
Then preventive measures will
be prepared. The knowledge of
how the poultry products enter
our country is vital to set up the
countermeasures,” said Dr Kyaw
Naing Oo from the Research and
Disease Control Division, LBVD.
Currently, the new strains of
bird flu detected around the
world and the neighbouring
countries like China and India
have struggled with the flu last
year.
According to the statement of
World Organisation for Animal
Health, the bird flu hit
Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao, Nepal,
Japan, Korea, Canada, Australia,
Italy and Germany in 2014.
A meat market
near MyanmarChinese border.
EMG
Chinese poultry imports checked over bird flu concerns
Business
6
Ministry to
monitor oil
transport with
drones
MYANMAR ELEVEN
KTB keen on expansion of GMS business
Sucheera Pinijparakarn
THE NATION
State-owned Krungthai Bank
(KTB), the country’s largest
bank by assets, is placing
importance on payments, product development and partnership in its drive towards inclusive business development in
the Greater Mekong Subregion
(GMS).
Kittiya Todhanakasem, the
bank’s first senior executive
vice president, said KTB was
currently the only foreign bank
in Kunming assigned as the
financial centre for southern
China.
The Kunming operation will,
therefore, have an increased
role in supporting business
activities in Yunnan province,
which forms the northernmost
part of the GMS, she said.
“The outstanding progress
that we have seen is the rising
financing demand for infrastructure in Kunming, and KTB
is working with its partner
bank in Kunming, Fudian Bank,
in offering the first syndicated
loan to a major Chinese construction company,” she said.
Partnership is one of KTB’s
development strategies in the
GMS, she said, adding that last
year its Kunming branch was
able to sell Thai banknotes
through Fudian Bank, while the
Kunming branch received a
yuan licence from the China
Banking Regulatory
Commission to facilitate entrepreneurs in conducting business transactions with their
trading partners in China.
KTB sells between Bt30 million and Bt40 million monthly
in Thai banknotes through its
alliance bank, and has been
asked by another Chinese bank
to sell banknotes to them, as
well as to develop other products.
KTB itself also requires
more partners in Yunnan, said
Kittiya, as this would help
strengthen its payment products in the GMS because the
bank does not have a network
in all countries in the subregion, she explained.
Payment products
The payment products it
offers include remittances,
banknotes and foreign-currency deposit accounts.
KTB targets 20-per-cent
growth annually for its banknote business in the subregion.
In Laos, KTB offers payment
products in partnership with a
local bank, Banque Pour Le
Commerce Exterieur Lao, while
in Myanmar, six partner banks
facilitate remittances from
Myanmar workers in Thailand.
“There is no reason not to
do [something similar] in
Cambodia and Vietnam in order
to cover the GMS. The payment
system will be expanded to co-
branded ATMs as the next
step,” she said.
Meanwhile, KTB also offers
credit cards of its subsidiary
Krungthai Card to wealthy
Laotians.
The bank is active in Laos,
especially in the role of financing infrastructure projects, and
has submitted an application
for a licence to open a subsidiary in the country, she said.
Kaskornbank has already set
up a subsidiary in Laos, enabling it to open more branches
and ATM machines.
If approved, KTB hopes the
subsidiary licence will help
strengthen its payment and
banknote business, said the
executive.
The bank is also planning to
reactivate its relationship with
Acleda Bank, its partner in
Cambodia, for promoting transactions in Cambodian riel and
Thai baht, particularly in crossborder trade payments, she
said.
KTB signed a collaboration
agreement with Acleda Bank in
2009.
In Cambodia, KTB has a
branch in Phnom Penh and a
sub-branch in Siem Riep.
In Vietnam, however, while
the bank is interested in having
its own branch, it could take
time to achieve this because
Vietnamese banks are slow
when it comes to seeking foreign partners, she added.
REUTERS
THE Energy Ministry said it will
use drones to monitor the loading
and unloading of oil at the Shwe
Gas Project in Maday Island,
Rakhine State, in order to detect
and address spills if they occur.
Meanwhile, locals plan to protest
if a spill occurs.
“We just asked Zayyar Aung, the
energy minister, whether oil spill
rules and regulations in line with
international norms have been set
up for the protection and conservation of the environment. He said the
ministry will be using drone for
monitoring and taking action
against spills,” said Rakhine Ethnic
Affiars Minister Zaw Aye Maung on
Janurary 20 at Maday Island.
He added that in Singapore, a
fines for oil spills cost companies
millions of dollars.
“As Myanmar’s rules and regulations are weak, it is likely that oil
will be carelessly spilled by a company into the ocean, and the com-
pany will pay [a meager] US$
4,000 and 5,000 for the spill. This
could lead to environmental damage around Kyaukphyu area,” Zaw
Aye Maung continued.
An oil tanker operated by the
China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC) is set to dock
24 miles from Kyaukphyu, Rakhine
State, on January 24 to transport oil
to China through the pipelines of
the Shwe Gas Project. The tanker is
carrying a total of 150,000 tonnes
of oil from Middle Eastern countries.
This operation is the pilot project for oil transportation using
through the Shwe Gas Project pipelines, said local resident Tun Tun
Naing.
The authorities have not
explained the details and impact of
the project on locals yet, said Tun
Kyi, a leader of the local pipeline
watch.
He also said the authorities have
not fulfilled the requests of the
locals.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
A man walks past the Solar Impulse 2 during its presentation at the Al Bateen airport in Abu Dhabi. Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered by the sun, will attempt an
unprecedented flight around the world next month, the project’s founders said, seeking to prove that flying is possible without using fossil fuel. Solar Impulse 2
is set to take off from Abu Dhabi with stopovers in India, Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and flying across the United States and southern
Europe to arrive back in Abu Dhabi. The plane, which has the weight of a family car and a wingspan equal to that of the largest passenger airliners, will take off in
late February and return by late July. Its journey will span approximately 25 flight days at speeds between 50 and 100 km (30 to 60 miles) per hour.
ASEAN+
7
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
Creaking education system
pushes students overseas
WEARIED by the rampant
cheating, endless rote learning
and mandatory Leninist ideology
classes, Vietnam’s middle-classes are fleeing the country’s
school system for overseas education.
Every year, Vietnamese parents
spend more than $1 billion sending their children to schools and
colleges abroad, according to data
from independent monitors, shunning a local system so backwards
that experts say it is impeding
economic growth.
From teenagers sent to secondary schools in Singapore to university students studying at prestigious American institutions, at least
125,000 Vietnamese students are
studying overseas, according to
ICEF Monitor, which tracks the
international education industry.
The figure represents just a
fraction of the nation’s near-17 million school and university students, but it is growing fast - up 15
per cent year-on-year in 2013
alone.
Civil servant Nguyen Thi Thu
sold family property to cover the
hundreds of thousands of dollars
needed for her two sons to study
overseas.
“I had to get my kids out of this
education system which is all
pressure and cheating,” she told
AFP.
When her sons -- who both now
study in the UK - were attending
state schools in Hanoi, Thu says
she had to regularly miss work to
take them to additional private
classes held by poorly-paid state
teachers.
“Once, my son asked me why
he never got the top score even
though he performed better than
his friend. I couldn’t explain that
his friend’s mother took better
care of the teacher, giving her
much money,” she said.
Vietnam’s Confucian lineage
means education is something of
a national obsession, but experts
say schools are failing students,
leaving parents desperate to get
their children into western institutions that will give them the qualifications they need to find
employment.
Some 20,000 Vietnamese now
study in Australia, 16,500 in the
United States and 5,000 in the
UK - small but significant numbers from a communist country
where only the elite have traditionally had access to foreign
education.
Yet despite the increased exodus, foreign universities still
remain out of reach for most families in Vietnam, where average
per capita income is just over
$1,500.
Vietnam’s state education does
score well in some indices - the
country ranked 17th out of 65 for
mathematics and science accord-
Students from a local college pose during a graduation ceremony at the temple of literature, Vietnam’s first university, in Hanoi.
ing to the Programme for
International Student Assessment
(PISA) chart, ahead of many
wealthy western countries including the US.
But top officials have warned
these test results do not accurately reflect the quality of overall
education in a nation where central control has cramped policy
innovation.
“We have to be honest and
admit that if fully assessed,
Vietnamese students’ capacity is
still poor,” Nguyen Vinh Hien,
deputy minister of education and
training was quoted in Tuoi Tre
newspaper in 2013.
Four decades after the end of
the Vietnam War in 1975, officials
have yet to fully reform an education sector, which critics say still
works to promote the Party rather
than create skilled workers.
Authorities have kept in place
a system heavy on rote learning,
regurgitation of facts to pass
exams, and obedience to authority -- with little room for critical
thinking.
Students rely on outdated,
leaden text books, cheating is
routine in exams while underpaid
teachers are renowned for withholding chunks of the syllabus to
instead impart in private classes
they can charge for.
“University education is so
bad. Text books are full of unnecessary, tedious theory,” former
education minister Pham Minh
Hac told AFP, warning that the
books were so information-heavy
they turned students off studying.
With very few top-quality private schools in Vietnam, escaping the dysfunctional state edu-
cation system is a priority the
better off.
“They have changed a lot in
their thoughts, their lifestyle,
their performance, behaviour and
viewpoints,” businessman
Nguyen Quang Thinh said of his
two sons studying in the US at a
cost of $40,000 a year.
Lu Thi Hong Nham, director of
study abroad consultancy firm
Duc Anh added: “Many students
were fed up when studying inside
the country, but overseas they
gained very good results.”
Unless communist Vietnam is
prepared to let the education
system be run by experts not
politicians, things are not going
to change, renowned teaching
expert Pham Toan warned.
“You can do nothing... when
education is in the communist
party’s resolution,” he said, referring to a paper passed in 2013
that calls for a “comprehensive
renovation” of the education system, without specifying changes.
“I am truly desperate” with
the system, he added.
Indonesia reinstates local elections
THE STRAITS TIMES
Indonesia’s Parliament has
reinstated direct local elections that
allow voters to elect office-holders
from district chiefs to provincial
governors.
The reversal came after MPs in the
outgoing Parliament passed a Bill last
September to scrap direct elections
for local leaders in a move seen as a
setback to Indonesia’s democratisation
as well as to newly elected President
Joko Widodo.
Then president Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono came under fire because a
walkout by MPs from his Democratic
Party had allowed the legislation to go
through. He issued an emergency
decree - known as a perppu in short soon after, to cancel the controversial
legislation.
The move, allowed in the
Indonesian system, sent the legislation
back to Parliament, which voted
yesterday to make the perppu a
permanent law.
Dr Yudhoyono took office in 2004
as the country’s first directly elected
president.
In 2005, direct elections were also
held for district chiefs, city mayors and
provincial governors across Indonesia.
Until then, the office-holders were
picked by the respective local
assemblies and this, critics said, made
them beholden to the assemblymen
instead.
Yesterday’s outcome was cheered
by political analysts, including Arie
Sudjito of the University of Gadjah
Mada in Yogyakarta.
“This is a victory of the people. It
saves democracy,” Arie told
tribunenews.com.
Lawyer Teguh Santosa told The
Straits Times: “The direct election
system is the best choice. We have to
guard this so it will always stay this
way going forward. Don’t let anyone try
to change it again.”
Teguh and other observers also
saw it as a political victory for Joko,
whose Indonesian Democratic PartyStruggle does not command a majority
in Parliament.
The leaders of the main opposition
parties - Gerindra and Golkar - said
last month that they supported direct
elections after the Democrats
threatened to leave the opposition
coalition.
Under the just-ratified perppu,
local elections must all be held
simultaneously across Indonesia for
efficiency.
Those who want to contest the
elections must be able to stand up to
public scrutiny and pass tests for
integrity before they can do so.
After the vote, Speaker Setya
Novanto pledged to revise clauses in
the perppu that stipulate February as
the month for simultaneous five-yearly
direct elections to take place. The
National Election Commission has
proposed that all local elections be
held at the same time in December
this year.
“The passing of the perppu is part
of the success brought about by the
people’s movement. When SBY (Dr
Yudhoyono) issued the perppu, it was
because of public pressure. People
want to stick with direct elections,” Titi
Anggraini, executive director of
Perludem, a Jakarta-based think-tank
that promotes fair elections and
democracy, told The Straits Times.
“Our next job now is to ensure that
those candidates running in the
elections are leaders who have quality
and integrity.”
AFP
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Hanoi
ASEAN+
8
Vietnam
sentences
eight drug
traffickers to
death: state
media
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Hanoi
A Vietnamese court has
sentenced eight members of a
smuggling gang to death for
trafficking heroin and five others to
life in prison, state media said
Tuesday.
The court in the northern
province of Hoa Binh also jailed 17
other defendants -- all Vietnamese
members of the same gang -- to
between six and 20 years in prison
after a two-week trial that ended
Monday, the state-run Tuoi Tre
newspaper said.
The ring had smuggled more
than 200 kilograms (440 pounds)
of heroin into Vietnam before their
arrest in 2011, the report said,
without specifying where the
heroin was sourced or how long the
group had operated.
Communist Vietnam has some
of the world’s toughest anti-drug
laws. Anyone found guilty of
possessing more than 600 grams
(21 ounces) of heroin, or more than
20 kilograms of opium, can face
the death penalty.
Convictions and sentences are
usually revealed only by local
media, which is strictly under state
control.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
Thailand’s gay-friendly image
‘superficial’ amid discrimination
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR
DESPITE its gay-friendly
image, conservative and
Buddhist-majorityThailand is not
always a welcoming place for the
local lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) community.
In the lively Silom district of
central Bangkok, customers pile
into a small, noisy gay bar on a
busy Saturday night.
Chakgai Jermkwan and his
partner Sean L’Estrange co-own
the popular venue, which is
located on a narrow street lined
with gay bars. The couple has
been together for eight years
and was legally married three
years ago in Boston,
Massachusetts.
“We are a married couple in
the US but here in Thailand, we
are just two friends in the eye of
the law,” Chakgai said. “If something bad happened to him
tomorrow, I wouldn’t have a say
in anything,” Sean added. “I
would be nothing.”
Thailand welcomes lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT)visitors: its tourism
authority targets the LGBT market, and Bangkok is often the
only Asian city included on lists
of gay-friendly tourist destinations around the world. There is
no law against homosexuality in
Thailand, unlike in some other
countries in the region. However,
Thai society is less accepting of
its own lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender communities.
Among Thais between 15 and
24 years old, 56 per cent think
homosexuality is wrong, according to recent research by Khon
Thai Foundation, a non-profit
organisation. By comparison,
more than 70 per cent of young
people in Japan, South Korea,
the Philippines and western
European countries think that
homosexuality should be
accepted by society at large,
according to the Pew Research
Centre, an American think-tank.
In a country where nearly 95 per
cent of people are Buddhists,
some believe that gay or
transgender people suffer from
bad karma for committing adultery in their past lives.
“I find it surprising that
Thailand, being one of the most
gay-friendly countries (for foreigners), does not have laws
that support and protect the
LGBT community,” said
L’Estrange, an Irish-American
who has lived in Thailand for
almost 10 years. Thailand has
no laws against discrimination
toward LGBT people, and a
recent surrogacy bill defines
parents as members of heterosexual couples only. Same-sex
marriage is neither licensed nor
recognised.Although a partnership bill has been drafted and
will be submitted to the parliament, gay rights activists have
concerns about it.
The Anjaree Group,
Thailand’s largest lesbian and
gay rights activist organisation,
has criticised the bill for not
granting homosexual couples
the same rights as heterosexual
couples.
The proposed Civil
Partnership Act includes the
right to use one’s spouse’s surname, the right to end the partnership and property rights. But
it also raises the age of legal
consent from 17 to 20 and does
not include joint adoption or
parental rights.
Transgenders, locally referred
to as “kathoey,” are more common in Thailand than perhaps in
any other country in the world,
but they too complain of discrimination. It is estimated that 1 in
166 men in Thailand is kathoey,
compared to1 in 2,500 in the
United States, according to
research by the University of
Hong Kong.
It was not until 2011 that the
Ministry of Defence stopped classifying kathoey - men living as
women, not limited to those who
have undergone gender reassignment surgery - as people with
permanent psychological problems. Again, the legal framework
seems to lag behind.
Transgender females are still
identified as male in their passports, for instance, although
there have been hints that kathoey may get formal recognition
under the country’s next constitution.
“Society seems to have space
for transgenders (only) specific
to the entertainment and tourism
industry,” said Kath
Khangpiboon, the only transgender lecturer at Bangkok’s
Thammasat University.
“I am very fortunate that the
university considered me for my
ability, but most transgenders do
not get that chance,” said the
social welfare professor. “I have
heard many stories of employers
telling transgender women to go
cut their hair or dress like a man
in order to get the job.”
“The country’s liberal image is
superficial,” she said.
Changing image into reality
may require a more concerted
effort from the authorities and
the LGBT community.
“There are no openly gay people in high-ranking offices who
can influence the change in both
law and attitude,” said
Suppakorn Chudabala, a gay
rights researcher. “The local
LGBT community needs to be
more active as well.”
Kertchoke Kasemwongjit,
from the Ministry of Justice, the
head of the team drafting the
same-sex partnership bill, agrees
that more activism is needed.
“We need more support from
LGBT people to implement
changes in the law,” he said.”The
first step in advocating for LGBT
rights is to educate people that
being homosexual or transsexual
is not wrong,” Suppakorn said.
“People need to stop thinking
that heterosexual is a norm and
understand that sexuality is
diverse.”
“We are not asking for any
privileges,” said Chakgai, the bar
owner. “We just want to be treated equally, like everyone else.”
Doomed AirAsia jet’s climb echoes Air France disaster
Revelations that AirAsia
Flight QZ8501 climbed too fast
before stalling and plunging into
the sea point to “striking” similarities between the Java Sea
accident and the 2009 crash of
an Air France jet, analysts said
Wednesday.
Indonesian Transport
Minister Ignasius Jonan said the
Airbus A320-200 was ascending
at a rate of 6,000 feet (1,800
metres) a minute before stalling,
as it flew in stormy weather last
month from Indonesia’s
Surabaya to Singapore.
“In the final minutes, the
plane climbed at a speed which
was beyond normal,” he told
reporters Tuesday.
That ascent is about two to
three times the normal climb
rate for a commercial jetliner,
according to experts.
Indonesian divers recovered
the plane’s black boxes a week
ago, after an arduous search for
the jet that crashed on
December 28 with 162 people
on board. The cockpit voice
recorder and the flight data
recorder are now being analysed, with a preliminary report
due next week.
While they stressed the difficulty of drawing conclusions
without seeing the full black box
AFP
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A member of search and rescue team walks past wreckage of AirAsia recovered at sea and stored in a warehouse for investigators.
data, analysts said the accident
had strong echoes of the crash
of Air France flight 447 into the
Atlantic in 2009, with the loss of
228 lives.
“The similarities are pretty
striking,” Daniel Tsang, founder
of Hong Kong-based consultancy Aspire Aviation, told AFP.
In that case, the Airbus A330
en route from Rio to Paris vanished at night during a storm.
The aircraft’s speed sensors
were found to have malfunctioned, and the plane climbed
too steeply, causing it to stall.
As with the AirAsia disaster,
the accident happened in what
is known as the “intertropical
convergence zone”, an area
around the equator where the
north and south trade winds
meet, and thunderstorms are
common.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
9
ASEAN+
Appetite for luxury wanes in China
CHINA DAILY
SALES of luxury goods slowed
in China during 2014, with the
growth rates falling for the first
time amid slowing economic
growth and brand proliferation, a
new study said on Tuesday.
China’s luxury market is
undergoing a fundamental shift,
brought on by evolving customer
dynamics, an influx of new,
emerging luxury brands, and an
economic slowdown, said the
study released by global consultancy firm Bain & Co.
Based on a survey of 1,400
respondents across China, Bain
said shoppers spent around 380
billion yuan ($61.13 billion) on
luxury products worldwide in
2014, up 9 per cent year-on-year.
Of this, about 30 per cent of
the purchases were made within
China from brick-and-mortar
stores and online shops.
However, the total consumption
fell by 1 per cent on a year-onyear basis to 115 billion yuan,
marking the first time that the
domestic luxury market has
shown such low growth numbers.
Among luxury goods, watch
sales fell by 13 per cent, the biggest among all categories, while
men’s wear purchases declined
by 10 per cent during the same
period, particularly at premium
price points. Leather goods sales
remained flat for most of last
year.
The slump in luxury goods
sales are primarily a result of the
ongoing anti-corruption and fru-
gality campaigns, factors that
have undermined luxury gifting,
said Bruno Lannes, a partner
with Bain.
Though jewellery sales
showed a 2 per cent growth in
2014, the sale of high-end products especially for women fell
sharply. The growth in mid-level
product sales, however, helped
offset the weakness in higherend products, said Lannes.
Last year also saw the highest
number of store closings by luxury brands in China, with men’s
categories being the most affected, he said. Hugo Boss closed
seven stores in China and Zegna
six.
Most of the well-established
brands remained conservative on
new store openings after wit-
Vangvieng
tourism
bounces
back
nessing a decline in like-for-like
sales. Emerging brands, on the
other hand, were more aggressive in new store openings, the
report said.
More than 80 per cent of the
respondents said they were more
interested in emerging luxury
brands and styles, with 44 per
cent keen on buying more
emerging brands in the next
three years. This is largely
because the Chinese consumers
are becoming more sophisticated, better informed and weighing
purchase decisions on the design
of the products, said Lannes.
Brands such as Balenciaga,
Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo
are gaining more popularity with
Chinese consumers, the report
said.
VIENTIANE TIMES
Rolexes fly off Singapore shelves as Swiss franc surges
AFP
A man walks in
front of the
Rolex watch
retail shop at a
shopping mall
in Singapore.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Rolexes and other Swiss luxury watches are flying off the
shelves in Singapore after the
Swiss franc surged against other
currencies, retailers said
Tuesday.
Enthusiasts and investors are
splurging on the fine timepieces
before retailers adjust their price
tags to reflect the strengthening
franc.
The franc has shot up 20 per
cent against the euro and the US
dollar since Thursday after the
Swiss central bank stunned global markets with its bombshell
decision to abandon the minimum rate of 1.20 francs against
the European common currency.
Sales staff at Singapore luxury
watch retailer The Hour Glass
told AFP they had experienced
an increase in sales of Swiss
brands, with Rolexes thriving in
particular.
Most of its retail outlets located along Orchard Road,
Singapore’s main shopping district, sold 25-30 Rolex watches a
day on Saturday and Sunday,
compared to the usual four to
five daily.
Among the favourites were
entry-level models costing
upwards of Sg$10,000 ($7,500).
One Rolex retailer located at a
five-star hotel told AFP that
Datejust and GMT Rolex models
sold briskly and stocks were thinning.
Another shop at a high-end
shopping mall along Orchard
Road sold 10 Franck Muller
watches per day over the weekend, a sharp increase over its
usual one or two, sales staff said.
Vietnam prioritises co-operation with Japan
VIET NAM NEWS
Vietnam hopes to further
deepen its friendship and multidimensional co-operation with
Japan, and considers doing so
one of its top foreign affairs pri-
orities, deputy prime minister
Hoang Trung Hai yesterday told
Katayama Satsuki, chairwoman
of the Japanese Committee for
Foreign Affairs and Defence.
While noting that the two
countries lifted their relations
to a bilateral strategic partnership for peace and prosperity
in Asia in March 2014, Hai
thanked Japan for its support
over the last two decades on
many significant projects.
Satsuki said she hoped the
“The buyers are aware that
retailers would soon raise the
prices of our Swiss models,”
a watch store manager told
AFP on condition of anonymity.
“About half of our customers enquire when it will happen and many are willing to
make purchases in anticipation of this price rise.”
Affluent Singapore has a
per capita income of $55,230,
one of the highest in the
world, and is also a key shopping destination in the region.
Vietnamese government
would help Japanese companies invest and operate in
Vietnam.
She also said Japan would
always support Vietnam’s
implementation of economic
co-operation pacts, including
infrastructure and energy projects, and would continue to
be a ODA provider for
Vietnam.
The popular tourist destination of Vangvieng district,
Vientiane province, is eyeing
revenue growth of 5-6 percent this year thanks to
returning backpackers and
an increasing number of
high-end tourists.
In 2013-14, tourism
income reached 15 billion
kip, an increase of 10 percent over 2011-12, the year
when many entertainment
venues along the Nam Xong
river were closed down by
authorities, Head of the
Vangvieng district Tourism
Department, Bounmy
Phommasa, reported recently.
He pointed out that actual
tourism revenue was higher
than the department’s estimate of 13 billion kip.
The district’s tourism sector can thank the growing
number of tour groups from
Asia for the increase, with
more Koreans, Chinese, and
Thai visitors coming to the
town. Korean tourist numbers especially have
increased, up by 60 per cent
in 2014 and 30 per cent in
2013.
European visitors were
also up 45 percent and those
from other countries 10 percent, which shows the town’s
tourism industry is springing
back to life.
Bounmy believes the
surge in the number of
Korean visitors can be put
down to their love of nature
and interest in the local culture and lifestyle. They are
also good word-of-mouth
promoters of the town as
they tell their friends about
the enjoyable experience
upon their return home.
The department expects a
continuous flow of Korean
visitors this year as they
don’t require a Lao entry
visa and can take a direct
flight from Seoul to
Vientiane.
He said more tourists
from China were expected
next month during the
Chinese New Year holiday.
As tourism picks up,
Bounmy said the department would work to improve
services and tourist attractions, as well as allowing
more restaurants to open
along the Nam Song River.
The department is also
planning to open a zip-line
at Tham Lom cave, to go
along with other adventure
activities such as tubing,
kayaking, climbing, cycling,
trekking, boat riding and
quad bike riding.
These activities will
increase the number of
attractions on offer, helping
to draw even more tourists
to Vangvieng and boost business in the years ahead.
LIFESTYLE
10
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Thursday, January 22, 2014
A Yine plays Ko Tint
in 'Ko Tint Doe'
Super Yatkwat'.
Foreign tourists
stunned by
marvels of the
Mergui
Ye Myint Win
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Kawthaung
stood many aspects [of the filming] exception one thing: we just
started to use HD cameras so we
needed to cope with the technical differences that had arisen in
like the camera frame and the
frame that will appear on the big
screen. The rest was okay. In the
scenes with costars and film
stars, there were many people
but everything was fine. Except
for the tempo of the plot, all of
the characters are active people.
They had to portray what’s happening in the ward. This is one of
the advantages.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
WITH his extensive background as a noted “anyeint” (a
comedic show combining jokes,
music and dance) comedian, A
Yine has appeared in countless
entertaining capers as one of the
most sought-after comedic
actors for many years. In “Ko Tint
Doe’ Super Yatkwat” (“The Super
Ward of Ko Tint”), the veteran
actor takes on the lead role as
Ko Tint, a famous character in a
popular comic book series of the
same name that is being adapted
for the big screen. In this exclusive interview with the Myanmar
Eleven, the comedian relates how
he’s maintained his stellar career
through the decades.
■ How did you come to play in
“Ko Tint Doe’ Super Yatkwat”
(“The Super Ward of Ko Tint”)?
After playing the character of
Ko Tint in eight direct-to-home
videos, I had a discussion with
Ko Moe Oo (Kyaw Zaw Linn) to
bring this comic book series to
the big screen. When I want to
offer something that the audience likes and is satisfied with, I
want them to have a sense of
longing for more. I don’t like
showing the same thing over and
over again. I always think about
presenting a new version of the
art [form] that the audience likes.
When we started thinking about
making a film about Ko Tint, we
talked about using popular film
stars to play the residents of Ko
Tint’s ward. We asked for their
help when we started planning
the film. At that time, all the film
stars told us that they would happily take part in the film without
taking any fees. After negotiating
with them, we had to negotiate
with Ko Shwe Htoo [the comic
book’s artist] and Wai Thar [the
novelist]. It took a year just for
planning. Only then can we start
the filming.
■ Were there any difficulties
during the filming given that
there were many film stars in it?
There weren’t many difficulties. Back in the days we used
film, Ko Moe Oo has plenty of
experience of making notes as he
is from the A-One family. We also
have extensive experience gained
from having worked with veteran
film directors like Ko Wunna and
U Aung Myint Myat. So we under-
■ When the film debuted in cinemas, it has broken a new record
since so many people came to
watch it. How do you feel about
this?
I’m happy and overjoyed
because I play the lead role in
the film and I have never
obtained that level of success
even though I’ve been working in
the film industry for a long time
now. This film has not only set a
new record, but also offered new
ways to fulfill the needs of the
film industry. You can say a new
method has come up for the people working in the film industry.
We now know that the audience
will accept any film as long as it’s
close to reality – whether a
drama, a romantic comedy or a
family film. We’re happy to learn
how to create such kind of films
about what’s happening in real
life with a much less budget.
■ Will there be a sequel?
I’m still thinking about it. I’m
satisfied that we could give full
entertainment to the audience.
I’m very satisfied that they went
home with lots of happiness after
watching the film. But I don’t
want to eat the same delicious
snack over and over again. We’re
thinking about how to present
this in a new style. Maybe we will
make this into a TV series. We’re
also thinking about doing another comedy film with a strong
plot.
■ Does this film mark a turning
point in your career?
Yes, you can say so. I was so
successful [as a comedian] of
Anyeint that I ended up in jail. I
was able to speak on behalf of
the audience. I was able to use
my comedy routines to aid the
reform of the country. By that
time think I had gone past my
turning point. Even now, I’m trying to revive the art form at
Anawmar Thukhuma Tabin. In
the direct-to-home video, I wrote
the script for “Hnin Si Wine”
(“Rose Wine”). I also wrote the
script for “A Kywan Tawin”
(“Intimately”) with the late actor
Ko Thar Gyi (aka Dway). The
audience recognised my efforts.
When I was writing the script for
“Hnin Si Wine”, I’d just graduated from university. So I wrote
about all the pranks I’d been
pulling back in my university
days. It was a very fun script to
write. In “Ko Tint Doe’ Super
Yatkwat”, I got to play the lead
role. It was a big success so you
can say this is another turning
point for me.
EMG
Myanmar’s
king of laughs
Holidaymakers from the
Bahamas’ cruise ship Ms the World
visited Makyonegalet Island, home
to the Salone tribe, as part of their
tour of the Mergui Archipelago
earlier this month.
After a trip to Lanpi Island,
more than 80 tourists landed on
Makyonegalet Island through
dinghies and made donations to
the island community. The villagers
staged a ritualistic performance
known as “nat pwe” in return,
according to the Hotels and
Tourism Development Department
(HTDD) in Kawthaung District.
On the island, they checked out
the Salone’s tradition boats, visited
the local school and monastery, said
Hlwan Moe, HTDD’s Assistant
Director. Makyonegalet Island
village is a scenic spot with a
monastery at the front end, a school
in the centre and a traditional
dockyard on the edge of the village.
Next to the village is a hill with an
observation platform, which affords
a panoramic view of the village and
other outlying islands.
Passengers from the
cruise ship MS the World
tour several islands of
Myanmar’s Mergui
Archipelago.
Tribute album
celebrates
Aung San’s
birth centenary
Bo Bo Music Production has
released a tribute album to Gen
(Bogyoke) Aung San to celebrate
his birth centenary and legacy.
“The tribute songs to Bogyoke
that were added to last year’s Art of
Freedom Film and Music Festival
didn’t reach the public as we had
intended. As the centennial of his
birth falls on this year, we’re going to
release the award-winning songs
and six other songs on the shortlist
from a music contest. We will try to
release the music videos before his
birthday,” said Zarganar, director of
the Aung San tribute album project.
Held last year as part of the Art
of Freedom Film and Music Festival,
the music contest sought to find
the best tribute songs to the
independence hero in three
categories: traditional, modern and
rap. Four awards including People’s
Choice were handed out. The
tribute album features 10 songs
including the four winning songs
and six tunes from the shortlist.