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

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EPA
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BUSINESS: KYAT WEAKENS AS RECORD TRADE DEFICIT LOOMS ✪5
First INDEPENDENT English daily
www.elevenmyanmar.com
FRIDAY, February 27, 2015
INSIDE
Stability restored
NATIONAL
As the fighting in the northern Shan State eases, some have returned home
First solar flight to reach
Mandalay on March 10
✪2
BUSINESS
Myanmar’s glaciers have
merits for nature-based
tourism
✪5
On February 21, war victims
were transported from Lashio
to a refugee camp in
Mandalay.
AFP
ASEAN+
MYANMAR ELEVEN
HUNDREDS of refugees who
fled to China to avoid military
conflict in northern Myanmar
have returned.
According to rescue volunteer
Chit Mee, the refugees who were
stuck in China have come back to
Chinshwehaw and Kunlong
through the forest.
“We are continuing for the rescue operations. People are heading south. No one is heading to
the north. We are picking up
those who come back. There have
been about 150 refugees up to
[February 25],” she said.
Another rescue volunteer Nay
Lin said: “We’ve arranged for 30
refugees to go back to Lashio this
morning. We have helped evacuate over 5,000 refugees.”
As of February 24, over a hundred refugees were staying in
Thiri Mingalar Mansu Monastery
in Lashio.
State media Global New Light
of Myanmar reported yesterday
that some 1,314 people from 389
households have resettled in
Laukkai between February 22-24
as stability is restored. On
February 24 alone, some 518 people returned to the township in
Kokang Self-Administered Zone, as
the armed forces, Tatmadaw, have
combed the area for insurgents.
The fighting between the army
and Kokang rebels erupted on
February 9, forcing some 50,000
to flee. While the fighting started
in Laukkai, it spread to nearby
towns this week.
Myanmar has accused Chinese
mercenaries of fighting with the
rebels, and has urged China to
cooperate with Myanmar to prevent “terrorist attacks” being
launched from Chinese territory.
The Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army
(MNDAA) emerged from the rem-
nants of the Communist Party of
Burma, a powerful Chinesebacked guerrilla force that battled
the Myanmar government before
splintering in 1989.
China Daily reported that at a
news conference in Beijing on
Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei denied
any involvement in recent violence.
“China always adheres to the
principle of non-interference in
other countries’ internal affairs,
and it respects the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of
Myanmar,” Hong said.
Kokang rebel leader Phone
Kya Shin also denied that he has
been receiving any help from
Chinese citizens or mercenaries.
Speaking to the Global Times,
an influential Chinese tabloid
published by the official People’s
Daily, Peng said that there was no
Chinese involvement.
“Since the 2009 incident, the
Kokang side has strictly forbidden
Chinese citizens from entering
Kokang to join the MNDAA,”
Peng said in a telephone interview published on Wednesday.
Gmail available in Burmese, the email’s 74th language
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
San Francisco
GOOGLE said Wednesday
that Gmail is now available in
Burmese, marking the 74th
language for the popular
email service.
“As a country of 53 million,
Myanmar’s recent opening-up
has triggered an explosion of
people coming online,” Google
product manager Brian
Kemler said in a blog post.
“As recently as 2011, a
mere 500,000 Myanmar citizens were able to access the
Internet, which was less than
one per cent of the population,” he added.
He said the number of people in Myanmar who can get
online has grown to 2.6 million, as the availability of
mobile phones has increased.
Kemler noted that “our
team has been working hard
to ensure Google is ready to
support this new community
in their own language.”
“To capture the nuances of
this language and make sure
the translations were accurate, consistent and complete,
we relied on an array of
Myanmar speakers from within the country, and around
the world,” he said.
“In April 2013 we launched
Google Search in Myanmar,
and today we’re excited to
announce that Gmail now
supports Myanmar
(Burmese), our 74th language.”
Execution rows spark
nationalistic feelings
✪7
LIFESTYLE
Looking for love in
Yangon
✪10
2
NATIONAL
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
First solar flight to reach
Mandalay in March
DKBA says
no plan to join
Tatmadaw to
fight Kokang
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MYANMAR ELEVEN
THE first round-the-world
flight of solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) - is set to
take off in early March from Abu
Dhabi, capital of the UAE and
reach Mandalay in second week
of March, according to a press
release on February 24.
“Solar-powered flight will start
in early March and is expected to
reach Myanmar on March 10. The
schedule might change depending on weather condition,” said
Christoph Burgener, Swiss
ambassador to Myanmar.
The 35,000 kilometre-journey
of solar-powered aircraft will last
for five months. The flight will stop
over in Mandalay for three days as
the fourth stop of the journey.
Mandalay is the only stop of this
solar-powered flight among all
Southeast Asian countries.
During their stopover for three
days in Mandalay, the pilots plan
to meet about 1,000 students
and share information about
renewable energy. Date and time
on which people can observe the
plane will be announced later.
This solar-powered aircraft
will cross the Arabian Sea, India,
Myanmar, China, the Pacific
Ocean, the US, the Atlantic
Ocean, and Southern Europe or
Northern Africa before landing at
the starting point, according to
the press release.
Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) is set to
inspire energy and technology
innovations in Myanmar, spreading a pioneering spirit among
youth and mobilising enthusiasm
for renewable energies. The journey has won supports from the
government, the Embassy of
Switzerland in Myanmar, local
partner First Myanmar
Investment Co Ltd (FMI) and
international partners Schindler
and ABB.
Solar Impulse
The visit is marked as a significant milestone to mark
Myanmar’s arrival to the international stage and will raise awareness on the pressing need for
sustainable and innovative energy solutions. During the plane’s
stop in Mandalay, approximately
1,000 students from the surrounding universities will attend
educational learning sessions,
meeting with the pilots and gaining knowledge around renewable
energies. Scheduled times for
the public to enjoy a close-up
view of the plane will be
announced closer to the landing
date.
“The co-pilots and founders of
Solar Impulse embody a spirit
that can inspire present and
future generations in Myanmar
and around the world to be
explorers in their own lives,” said
U Linn Myiang, chief operating
officer of FMI. “As a country
blessed with many natural
resources, the cause for renewable energies lies close to home.
Much of our country’s success
lies in identifying technologies
that promote sustainable energy.
The Solar Impulse 2 reminds us
that such innovation and technology is available with unrelenting
persistence and imagination.”
The Swiss pilots, Bertrand
Piccard and André Borschberg,
both pioneers and innovators,
are the driving force behind
Solar Impulse and strong believers that exploring and pioneering spirit can change the world.
After 12 years of planning and
development, the plane will fly
over the Arabian Sea, India,
Myanmar, China, the Pacific
Ocean, the United States, the
Atlantic Ocean, and southern
Europe or North Africa, before
closing the loop by returning to
the point of departure, Abu
Dhabi.
“The authorities and our partners in Myanmar are aware of the
importance of clean technologies. I still remember flying in
the Orbiter 2 over Myanmar. It
was gorgeous to fly in a silent
way over so many temples calling for inner peace and wisdom,”
announced Bertrand Piccard, cofounder and pilot of Solar
Impulse. Andre Borschberg, cofounder and pilot of Solar
Impulse added, “I am looking
forward to meeting students in
Mandalay, organized by FMI, as
Solar Impulse is also about working together to inspire the current and future generations of
the world”
UEC holds seminar on freedom of expression, elections
MYANMAR ELEVEN
With the aim to support the
electoral processes by the media,
Union Election Commission
(UEC) held a seminar on
“Understanding International
Standards on Freedom of
Expression and Elections’’ in
cooperation with the Myanmar
Journalist Association (MJA) and
Article 19 at the UEC office yesterday.
At the meeting, Dr Pierre and
Oliver Spencer from the Article
19 explained about the roles of
international standards on free
and fair elections, relations on
broadcast media, elections and
print media, justice and unbiased
in the program of current affairs
and election news, directly in
touch with media, code of ethics
that must be followed by journalists as well as controversial solutions to the crisis and keeping a
watch on media.
“2015 general election will be
held at the end of October or
early November. Regarding the
election, the media can play a
vital role in informing the public.
Transparency, honesty and trust
are very important in cooperating
with the UEC and the media. As
for journalists, they need to carry
out the tasks without making
unbiased reports and they also
need to closely cooperate with
the UEC and sub-committee
members for timely releasing
unbiased stories,” said Tin Aye,
UEC’s chairman.
The Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA)
issued a statement on
February 22 saying it has
no plan to join the
Tatmadaw (Myanmar
Armed Forces) to fight the
Kokang rebels.
In the statement, the
DKBA implored political
organisations and the public not to misunderstand its
stance.
“The rumour that the
DKBA seeks to cooperate
with the Tatmadaw in the
fight against the Kokang
troops is spreading on
social networks and is
totally wrong. Like the
DKBA, the MNDAA is one
of ethnic armed groups
that are struggling for their
national interests,” the
statement said.
“In the past, some
troops from the DKBA were
transformed into the border
guard force. The rumor
may have been spread by
these border guard forces,”
said Colonel Maung Lay,
the information officer for
the DKBA.
“The DKBA has no plan
to cooperate with the
Tatmadaw to fight Kokang
troops because the latter is
one of the ethnic groups
living in the country. If alien
troops invade our country,
every ethic group is
responsible for defending
our country. If so, we will
join hands with the other
ethnic groups, including
the Tatmadaw, to fight
against the alien troops,”
Colonel Maung Lay said.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
3
National
4
NEWS
DIGEST
Chickens culled to
contain H5N1
outbreak
Myanmar has culled thousands
of poultry to try to contain an
outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in
Monywa, west of the commercial
centre of Mandalay, health officials
said on Thursday.
The first outbreak of H5N1 in
Myanmar was in the same region,
about 525 miles (840 km)
northwest of Yangon, in 2006 and
the last outbreak was in western
Rakhine State in January 2011.
The disease was brought under
control and was not known to have
spread to humans.
An official said more than 1,400
chickens and 10,000 quail had died
in the Monywa outbreak early this
month and about 1,500 chickens
and more than 20,000 quail had
since been culled.
H5N1, which first infected
humans in 1997 in Hong Kong, has
since spread from Asia to Europe
and Africa and has become
entrenched in poultry in some
countries, causing millions of
poultry infections and several
hundred human deaths.
—REUTERS
A judge jailed over
corruption, 3 under
probe
The Anti-Corruption
Commission’s scrutiny led to the
imprisonment of a judge and
investigation of three others,
according to Than Aung, one of its
members.
“We’ve investigated nine cases
so far, while 270 cases which are
beyond our authority were
transferred to relevant ministries,
state and regional governments,”
Than Aung said on February 24
during a workshop to review UN
convention to combat against
corruption.
Low-level government officials
are also facing investigation over
corruption, he said.
Out of the 362 wrongdoers who
were charged under Civil Service
Law Section 53, 69 were
transferred to other departments,
18 were given early retirement, one
was jailed and the rest are still
being investigated, according to a
report presented by Tin Naing
Thein, union minister from the
Presidential Office.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
Education law amendment
not within February 28
MYANMAR ELEVEN
WITH student protesters set to
march into Yangon if an amendment to the National Education
Law is not passed by February
28, the Upper House parliamentary bill committee has explained
why it is impossible to meet their
February 28deadline. It said
opinions from all stakeholders
must be sought as the law will
affect the entire country.
“It needs step-by-step hearings as this law is quite different
from the normal laws,” said MP
Khin Maung Yi, chairperson of
the bill committee. “It is crucial
that this should be a perfect law
as this relates to national affairs.
So it needs to take some time.
“Bills such as the budget bill,
the taxation bill, the national
planning bill are at the top of the
agenda at the 12th regular parliamentary session. And the
amendment of the constitution is
also high on the agenda. The bill
committee is making all-out
efforts to approve (the education
amendment) as soon as possible
in the teeth of other important
cases. We will finalise it in the
12th regular parliamentary session.”
Hundreds of students from
across the country have been
staging protests against the
National Education Law for more
than a month, but authorities
have warned them under threat
of arrest against marching into
Yangon.
During talks earlier this month
involving the protesters, their
support organisations and parliamentarians, the students provided an 11-point demand on how
the law should be amended.
“This (process) may meet the
11-point demand made by students,” Khin Maung Yi said.
“There may (also) be suggestions
and views from 600 MPs on this
law. This law is so crucial. We
should pay more attention to it.”
MP Myat Nyana Soe, secretary
of the bill committee, reassured
students that their demands will
be submitted to Parliament as
part of broad national discussion
on the issue.
“Hearings on this law will start
as of March 5 in Parliament,” he
said. “Media will have access to
these hearings. It will be held in
a free and transparent manner. I
think there will be a live broadcast of discussions.”
The national education bill is
not included in the list of bills
that have to be submitted directly to the Union Parliament, so it
must be forwarded to the Upper
House and the Lower House
step-by-step, he explained. The
final step will be the Union
Parliament approving it, he said,
adding that every effort is being
made to pass the bill as quickly
as possible.
“We have already received
many suggestion letters from
organisations, experts and individuals,” Myat Nyana Soe said.
“And we are planning to invite all
of those who sent the letters (to
attend discussions). Parliament
is not buying time. Amendments
to the law should be made with
special care.”
According to state media,
hearings on the bill will be held
March 5-15. The Upper House of
Parliament has informed the
Action Committee for
Democratic Education, political
parties, the National Network for
Education Reform, activists, registered civil societies and those
who sent letters regarding the bill
to contact the office of the Upper
House to reserve space in the
hearings for up to 20 members
of each group, state media
reported.
■ Social media attack
This week, 15 student leaders
spearheading the protest march
witnessed social media attacks.
A Facebook account under the
name of Kokyaw Thantzin has
asked one of the students
where he got the money to buy
the vehicle Alphard. Or did you
buy it with your father’s
money? Or did you buy that car
after selling the land plot of
yours? But, I know that the
land in North Okkalapa isn’t
owned by your father yet.
These personal attacks were
posted on February 23 and 24
with about 20 accounts tagged
together with 500 “likes” and
“share.”
“I have nothing to explain as
the news is fabricated. Those
who are against amending of
the National Education Reform
law intentionally did this. This
is a very low standard in politics,” said Zeya Lwin.
“Some criticised us in principle. If that so, we could
explain them matter of fact.
But for the personal attacks,
which used bad languages, we
don’t need to explain. For me, I
don’t care that kind of attack.
But if the attack is aimed at
hindering the amendment of
the future education reform
law, I strongly object to it,”
said Phyo Phyo Aung, a student leader.
Hundreds protests against court trial in KhinU
Another threat to
Michaungkan protest
camp
Demonstrators hold a mass rally against the judicial system.
Ye Yint Aung
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Hundreds of local people from
KhinU Township in Sagaing Region
staged a mass protest against the
court’s trial on February 24.
On February 7, 13 people from
the school board of trustees were
fined Ks10,000 each by the township court for attempting to move
the primary school building without getting the green light from the
Education Ministry.
EMG
The Michaungkan protesters,
who have constructed a protest
camp in downtown Yangon, say
they fear authorities will destroy
their camp again.
They said city authorities on
February 25 told them to move, as
the site requires maintenance
work.
The protesters , demanding for
return of land and better
compensation, still stand firm.
In December, 14 of them who
blocked the entrance to Yangon
City Hall were imprisoned for six
months. The land the protesters
demand returned was originally
confiscated by the government in
1991.
“A lawsuit was filed in court
against those who donated a plot
of land for the school. I would like
to say that the court’s decision
may lead to a dysfunctional judicial system,” said U Thein, a local
from Madaunggyi village.
The Education Ministry did not
get involved in the lawsuit against
them with both sides not satisfied
with the court’s verdict.
The mass rally was held after
obtaining official permit from the
authorities.
5
BUSINESS
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
Kyat weakens against dollar
as record trade deficit looms
MYANMAR ELEVEN
THE Myanmar kyat hit Ks1,041
against the US dollar on
Wednesday, sharply above the
official rate of 1,027, according to
money exchangers.
The Central Bank of
Myanmar’s official rate for the
day was Ks1,027 per dollar, but
the currency was actually sold at
1,041. Buying rate was 1,038.
Since the beginning of this
year, the official rate was at 1,025
per dollar until January 22 when
the greenback weakened slightly
to 1,024. From January 27 to
February 9, the official rate was
1,025 per dollar. During February
10-24, it was 1,026. The rate was
adjusted upward to $1,027 on
Wednesday and it stayed
unchanged today.
At foreign exchange booths,
the buying rate of dollar was
1,028 and the selling rate was
1,026 in the first week of
February. In the second week, the
rates went up to 1,033/1,030.
The dollar has moved up
against the local currency compared to the rate in January,
given widening trade deficit.
Myanmar’s main foreign
exchange income is through the
exports of primary natural
resources and tourism industry.
The country’s manufacturing
industry is now at its infancy
stage, still controlled by small
and medium-sized companies
which have no resources to
improve their production technology.
Myanmar is trading with its
partners – China, Thailand,
Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
India, South Korea, Indonesia,
the United States, Hong Kong,
Germany and the United
Kingdom – both through borders and sea lanes.
Chief export products
include agricultural produce,
animal and fishery products,
mineral extractions, forest products and industrial finished
A Lower House Public Joint
Committee’s report on the first
half-year budget turnovers,
released recently, also showed
that trade deficit may lead to
currency slide and export incompetency.
The committee’s report urged
the government to find ways to
cope with the rising trade gap in
terms of market-based economic
strategies as it could hinder foreign investment flow.
In addition, it was suggested
that state budget also needs
review and the governmental
organisations should be scrutinised to find out if there are any
leaks.
products while imports include
merchandise for investment,
raw materials and commodities.
The Ministry of Commerce’s
data showed that Myanmar’s
international trade is on the
rise. Trade value is expected to
top US$25 billion before the
current fiscal year ends March
31.
Between April 1 and February
6, the country spent US$13.8
billion on imports and earned
$9.6 billion from exports resulting in deficit of $4.2 billion.
Last fiscal year, the deficit was
$2.6 billion. And many experts
believe this year the country
will suffer a record trade deficit.
About 300,000
Myanmar
officially
working abroad
PHOTO-MINISTRY OF HOTEL AND TOURISM
Wai Yan Phyo Oo,
Myo Min Htet
MYANMAR ELEVEN
On top of Hkakabo Razi in the northern region.
Myanmar’s glaciers have merits for nature-based tourism
Nwe’ Yin Aye
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Asean’s highest mountain
peak, Hkakabo Razi, has high
potential for nature-based tourism and adventure travel, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of
Hotels and Tourism.
According to the ministry, the
snow-capped mountain, located
in Putao is 218 miles from
Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin
State, features a hotel and a
guest house for those who want
to experience the rich biodiversity of the region.
Hkakabo Razi’s peak is as
high as 5,881 metres. The area is
only accessible by plane in winter and has a cold climate all
year around.
Hponkan Razi (9,000 ft) and
Hkakabo Razi (192,986 ft) glaciers are renowned for their hiking resorts and expedition trips.
Moreover, Hkakabo Razi
National Park – regarded as one
of 33 Asean Heritage Parks – and
the wildlife sanctuary of Hponkan
Razi are also famous attractions.
It was learnt that an expedition team from the National
Geographic Channel technology
made a hiking trip to Hponkan
Razi with the support of
Myanmar City Star Travel and
Tours.
The team stressed that the
place is an invaluable landmark
with exotic features to offer and
should be well-preserved and
promoted as a travel destination.
Through officially-licenced
agents, about 300,000 Myanmar
workers are being sent to foreign
countries, according to the Labour,
Employment and Social Welfare
Ministry.
Amid reports of malpractice
against Myanmar workers
overseas, Win Maw Htun, deputy
minister, said any agents that break
the rules and regulations would be
punished.
Licences have been issued to
202 foreign employment agencies
since 1990 to January 2015 with
285,363 Myanmar workers been
officially sent to work in foreign
countries including Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and
Japan, according to the deputy
minister.
Plan to reform the Foreign
Employment Law is afoot to match
the international and regional
changes in political, social and
business sectors, he added.
Rules and regulations for
foreign employment agencies to
follow have already been
announced and if they break the
rules, actions will be taken by
revoking their licences, suspending
work permit temporarily, and so
on, he said.
Labour officials from Myanmar
are being sent to Korea, Malaysia
and Thailand to solve labour
disputes and provide necessary
protection.
Business
6
Angry debate
precedes
approval of
Chinese bank
loan
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
MTUF to protect workers by law
Parliament on Thursday
approved a US$300 million loan
from a Chinese bank, but not
before the Speaker had to warn the
Cooperatives Minister and two MPs
from the National League for
Democracy (NLD) Party about
parliamentary rules of etiquette.
Union Parliament Speaker
Thura Shwe Mann admonished
Union Cooperatives Minister Kyaw
Hsan and NLD MPs Khin San Hlaing
and Khin Mway Lwin over heated
exchanges during debate on the
bank loan, which members later
approved by a count of 433 to 56.
“With the aim of reducing the
country’s poverty rate to 16 per
cent and improving the socioeconomic lives of farmers and
others, the ministry’s plan to
re-disburse loans ranging from
Ks100,000 to Ks500,000 to them
after taking a US$300 million loan
from the Exim Bank of China is
good,” NLD MP Khin San Hlaing
said.
However, it is “questionable”
whether the loans will get into the
hands of those who need them, he
said, adding that such loans are not
enough to solve all the problems
the recipients face.
“The Union Parliament has
already warned the Cooperatives
Ministry not to take loans from
China’s Exim Bank due to the high
interest rates,” Khin San Hlaing
said, adding that short repayment
schedules put undue pressure on
borrowers such as farmers.
“The minister himself explained
(the loan terms),” he said. “The
minister’s explanations are
impractical and beyond possibility.
I think it is fanciful.”
NLD MP Khin Hmway Lwin
added: “To promote the living
standards of the poor, the ministry
needs to seek means and ways to
create more job opportunities,
instead of loan disbursement that
may make them fall into the debt
trap.”
Cooperatives Minister Kyaw
Hsan responded by saying he takes
responsibility for any mistakes he
might make, but suggested, “The
MPs should criticise me with the
adequate explanations. I am
practical but not fanciful. Here I
would like to tell Khin San Hlaing
and Khin Hmway Lwin that both of
you will be fanciful.”
After further comments, the
Speaker finally had enough of the
comments the minister and MPs
were directing at each other and
firmly reminded them that
Parliament’s rules require
members to direct questions,
replies and comments through him
and not at each other.
“Direct discussions may
generate problems,” Thura Shwe
Mann told them. “Those from the
ministries should be aware of who
is the medium for discussion. All
need be cautious that such
undesirable practices as using
direct names (of members) goes
against the rules, regulations and
procedures.”
EMG
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MTUF’s Aung Lin addresses the press conference.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MYANMAR Trade Unions
Federation has vowed that they
would seek legal means to
strengthen workers’ protection,
following a recent crackdown on
workers demanding for wage
hike.
At the press conference on
February 25, Aung Lin, chairperson of MTUF, also said that his
federation would not work for the
benefit of employers.
Earlier this month, about
3,000 workers at four garment
factories - Tai Yi Shoe, E-Land
Myanmar, Ford Glory and Costec
in Shwepyithar and Hlaing
Tharyar industrial zones were on
street, demanding for an
increase in their wage.
On February 20, some protest
camps were demolished and
some of the protest leaders were
charged.
“We cannot offer financial
support to the workers, but we
could provide them legal assistance. This is in line with our
principle,” said Aung Lin.
He furthered that the federation is now discussing with the
Labour, Employment and Social
Welfare Ministry on the weak
points of labour-related laws.
MTUF is helping the ministry
set the minimum wage. They are
also working together in reforming the Labour Organisation Law.
Aung Thu, an executive committee member of MTUF, added
that the federation also has a
legal team to assist individual
workers’ demand for compensation and other issues.
Labour organisations have
accused the authorities of using
a heavy-handed approach to
solve the labour disputes.
They demanded that the
Yangon Region government and
the Ministry of Labour should
take responsibility over the
crackdown.
The authorities announced on
February 17 that it will take
action against both the owners
and workers if they break the
law.
“I think the crackdown on
labour disputes is heavy-handed. The government should
solve the problems with more
peaceful means. Both sides
need flexibilities,” said Aung Lin,
chairman of Federation of
Myanmar Labour Union.
“We, labourers, were told that
we weren’t respecting the law.
However, nobody is taking action
against the foreign owners who
act in disrespectful manners
against the workers. Only in
Myanmar, you get cheap labour.
In Thailand, a daily income of a
worker is Ks 8,000. In Myanmar,
the daily income is only Ks
1350. We are being oppressed. If
the employers are willing to
increase the wages, there won’t
be any dispute,” said Thein Moe
Lwin from the Costec Garment
Factory.
Yves Rocher offers botanical beauty in Laos
VIENTIANE TIMES
The famous French cosmetic
brand Yves Rocher is making a
name for itself in Vientiane with
its natural and friendly products
and its proponents see a bright
future in the country as it
becomes better known among
Lao skin care lovers.
Yves Rocher has more than
4,000 outlets around the world.
In Asia it has a presence in
Vietnam, Thailand, Laos,
Philippines, Malaysia, India and
China and is starting to develop
its business in Laos.
In Laos, Yves Rocher health
and beauty products are imported by Annam Fine Foods, a subsidiary of the French group Apple
Tree located in Southeast Asia.
“Laos is a country that is
developing, opening the business
environment for foreigners to do
business here. So we also want
to play a part to develop the
French business in Laos.
Recently, we have presented
many beauty products to Lao
people and to foreigners who
live in Laos,” said the country
manager of Yves Rocher in
Laos, Marion Mollin.
“We are pleased to present
the botanical beauty for Lao
people to have healthy skin and
beautiful appearances like we
do in France” she added.
Open for two years already,
the Yves Rocher boutique has
built its image around a goal of
promoting nature’s benefits.
It offers women services
related to beauty products
while preserving the environment. Products available in
Laos are the same as those
offered in France. They are
made from more than 1,100
plants grown in the Gacilly garden in Brittany.
“Passionate about the vegetation world, our ambition at
Yves Rocher has always been to
work in harmony with the environment, as each tree and each
plant does in nature,” Mollin
said.
“This vision, dedicated to the
beauty of women began in the
beautiful land of La Gacilly,
France, and guides us every day
across the world and is embodied in our unique botanical
beauty.”
“You know Yves Rocher’s
brand, it’s the number one in
cosmetics in France, for skin
care, fragrance, makeup, and
body care. We want as many
people as possible in Vientiane
to discover the Yves Rocher
quality.”
Those who love our brand
have no need to go to find it in
Thailand, we have everything
you need here. And the new
boutique will open soon at
Vientiane Centre at the end of
March.
Yves Rocher has a variety of
treatments, makeup and perfume on offer for customers
and also has a spa treatment
available for all types of skin.
Yves Rocher boutique is
located on Pangkham Street,
Xien Gneun village. And the
product is also available at
B-Well Heath and Beauty Store
(Saylom village and Talat Sao
Shopping Mall 2). You can also
find its products at Poppy’s
Pharmacy in Vientiane and
Luang Prabang.
ASEAN+
Execution rows spark
nationalistic feelings
7
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
JAKARTA
Diplomatic rows triggered by
the planned executions of foreigners convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia have sparked
a wave of nationalistic fervour in
the country.
Indonesia has been embroiled
in diplomatic spats with Australia
and Brazil, which are both seeking to prevent the impending
executions of their nationals for
drug offences. Remarks by
Australian Prime Minister Tony
Abbott invoking his country’s aid
to Indonesia’s tsunami-hit Aceh
in his appeal for mercy for two
Australian men on death row,
and calls in Australia to boycott
Bali, have caused anger and disdain in Indonesia.
“This needs to be expressed
firmly: There should be no intervention in the executions
because this is about our legal
sovereignty,” Indonesian
President Joko Widodo said
Tuesday. The death penalty
against drug traffickers is popular in Indonesia, where the drug
problem is seen as a national
menace, and politicians of all
stripes have spoken in favour of
capital punishment. After Abbott
appealed to Indonesia to reciprocate its1-billion-dollar tsunami
aid by granting clemency to
Australian death-row convicts
Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran, Indonesians across
the country collected pennies in
a campaign that started online
called “Coins For Abbott.”
At a protest rally in Jakarta,
Abbott was likened to Shylock, a
fictional loan shark in William
Shakespeare’s play The Merchant
of Venice. Elementary school students in Surabaya waved posters
that read: “Go to Hell with Your
Aid, Mr Abbott.” Convenience
stores provide boxes so that
shoppers can donate to the campaign, ostensibly to repay the
Australian aid. Analysts said
Abbott’s remarks are likely to
have the opposite effect and have
hardened Indonesia’s stance on
the death penalty, causing
Indonesians to rally around the
executions.
“Tony Abbott is putting the
nail in the Australian convicts’
coffins,” said Tobias Basuki, a
political analyst at the Jakartabased Centre for Strategic and
International Studies. “But
maybe his remarks were not
about saving the Australians,”
Basuki said. “He’s using the executions as a pretext to reduce aid
overseas.”
Indonesia recalled its ambassador-designate to Brazil last
week after President Dilma
Rousseff refused to accept his
credentials and is reconsidering
its purchase of defence equipment from the South American
country. “What Brazil has done is
unacceptable,” Foreign Minister
Retno Marsudi said Tuesday during a meeting with Joko. “It’s
about our dignity.”
Brazilian citizen Marco Archer
Cardoso Moreira, 53, was executed in Indonesia last month along
with four other foreigners and an
Indonesian.
Some see pressure over the
executions as an opportunity for
Joko, who came to power in
October after a tightly contested
election, to show firmness after
he was widely criticised as indecisive at home on some key
issues, including in fighting corruption. The January executions
were the first since 2013, when
five people were killed by firing
squad. Before that there were no
executions for five years. About
130 people are on death row in
Indonesia, mostly for multiple
murder and drug offences, and
many have languished in jail for
more than a decade.
“Jokowi may be fomenting
nationalism, but I think his
stance is out of a sincere but
misguided belief that the death
penalty is a solution to the drug
problem,” Tobias said. “He’s
been citing statistics that some
people see as questionable,” he
said. “The government has cited
Singapore as an example where
the death penalty deters traffick-
ers, but they forget that
Singapore has more effective
immigration control and law
enforcement.”
Poengky Indarti from the
National Coalition Against the
Death Penalty, a group of activist
organisations, said the death
penalty is prone to error and
abuse, especially in Indonesia,
where the legal system suffers
from corruption.
“From the police level to the
court level, if you have money
you can buy freedom,” Poengky
said. “While small-time traffickers are sentenced to death, drug
barons can often get away.”
Judges who handed out death
sentences were favoured for promotion, she said.
Poengky also questioned what
she said were the government’s
double standards on the death
penalty. “We apply the death
penalty, but when our nationals
overseas are sentenced to death,
we ask for them to be treated
leniently. This makes our position difficult,” she said.
Indonesia puts hope on Islamic tourism drive
Just a short hop from the
Indonesian holiday hotspot of
Bali, a Saudi tourist and his
family listen to the call to prayer
as the sun goes down on
Lombok, the self-styled “island
of 1,000 mosques”.
Lombok is at the centre of an
Islamic tourism drive in
Indonesia, which has the world’s
biggest Muslim population and
is hoping to boost the number
of visitors from wealthy Middle
Eastern countries.
While aiming to continue to
attract Western tourists who
flock to its pristine beaches, the
island is also seeking to promote its Islamic heritage, from
numerous places of worship to
shrines dedicated to ancient
Muslim preachers.
“I love it here because I can
hear the azan (call to prayer)
and people go to the mosque to
pray,” said 58-year-old
Sulaiman, the Saudi tourist, who
gave only one name and was
accompanied by his wife who
was wearing an all-encompassing burqa.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest archipelago nation, made
up of more than 17,000 islands,
but has long lagged behind
smaller, more developed countries in Southeast Asia, such as
Malaysia and Thailand, in
attracting tourists. Foreign visitor arrivals to Indonesia rose to
8.8 million in 2013, according to
AFP
Agence France-Presse
SENGGIGI
A local visitor prays at a beach near the town of Sekaroh on the island of Lombok in Indonesia’s
West Nusa Tenggara province.
official figures, compared with
25.72 million in Malaysia and
26.55 million in Thailand. In a
recent report, Muslim-oriented
business group CrescentRating,
predicted the “sharia” tourism
sector would be worth $192 billion a year globally by 2020, up
from $140 billion in 2013.
“The economic growth of
Middle Eastern countries is very
good and we see an opportunity
there,” senior tourism ministry
official Rizki Handayani said.
Only around 190,000 Middle
Eastern visitors came to
Indonesia in 2013, according to
official figures, but authorities
hope their Islamic tourism drive
can increase numbers.
The government has produced tourist guides promoting
Indonesia as a “Muslim friendly
destination”. It highlights the
country’s best “sharia” tourism
destinations and notes there are
more than 600,000 mosques in
the archipelago.
Lombok, long overshadowed
by its better known neighbour,
Hindu-majority Bali, hopes the
drive can help raise its profile.
Other parts of Indonesia like
Aceh province are hoping to
benefit from the initiative.
Creating barriers
Despite the optimism of officials, there are concerns that
the push for Islamic tourism
could put off other visitors who
want to sunbathe in skimpy out-
fits and relax on the beach with
a drink. But the local government insists it can promote sharia tourism without affecting the
existing industry, and that party
hotspots in the area - such as
tiny Gili Trawangan island, off
the west coast of Lombok - will
remain unaffected.
Authorities are considering
clearly demarcating areas more
suited to Muslim guests, where
Western tourists should cover
up. “We will make zones so that
travel agents and guides have
clear options depending on their
guests’ wishes,” said local tourism chief M. Nasir, adding that
visitors were already told they
should not wear skimpy clothing
when they head into cities or
visit religious sites.
Nevertheless for some
Muslims, the clash of cultures
may still be off-putting. While
Sulaiman, who comes from
Mecca, was enjoying his holiday
in Senggigi, the main tourist
strip on Lombok, some aspects
made him feel uneasy.
“I am not comfortable with a
tourist place where there are
people wearing things that are
too revealing,” he said.
Others had concerns about
trying to artificially separate
Muslim and non-Muslim tourists. American tourist Sarah
Jorgensen, who was visiting
Lombok, warned such a move
could lead to tensions: “When
you create borders then you
have more opportunity for discrimination.”
ASEAN+
8
GLOBAL
BRIEFS
Lee Kuan Yew still in
intensive care
Singapore’s first prime minister,
Lee Kuan Yew, is still on mechanical
ventilation in an intensive care unit
in hospital, the prime minister’s
office said on Thursday.
Lee, who turned 91 last
September, was admitted to hospital
on Feb. 5 with severe pneumonia.
“His doctors have restarted him
on antibiotics, and are continuing to
monitor him closely,” the statement
said. Although Lee has receded from
the public and political scene, his
health is watched closely as he is
still seen as an influential figure for
the government of Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong, his oldest son.
Thursday’s statement came after
rumours spread on social media on
Wednesday night that he may have
died.
- REUTERS
Lowest crowd turnout
in 29 years of
Philippine people
power
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
China’s population reaches
1.36bn, with fewer newborns
China Daily
The Chinese population
reached 1.3678 billion at the end
of 2014, up 5.21 per cent from
one year earlier, according to
official data published on
Thursday.
According to the National
Bureau of Statistics, 7.1 million
people were added to the national population in the past year.
The data takes into account the
total number born, 16.87 million,
and offsets it with the dead, 9.77
million. More than half of the
people that took part in the census live in urban areas as the
total number of urban residents
reached 74.9 million, making up
54.77 per cent of the population.
Migrant workers, totalled 253
million, remained the chunk of
the population who don’t live in
the places where their household
registrations are kept.
China is expecting at least one
million more births in 2015 than
last year, as a result of policy
changes. A total of 16.9 million
new citizens came into the world
in 2014, 470,000 more than in
2013, said the China Population
Association (CPA) on Monday.
According to the CPA, since
the 1990s, the annual number of
newborns has decreased from
more than 20 million to around
16 million. The lowest number
was 15.8 million in 2006.
marking the first “absolute
decrease” since China’s reform
and opening up in 1979.
As of 2013, the number of
Chinese people aged 60 or above
exceeded 202 million, 8.53 million more than in 2012 and
accounting for 15 per cent of the
total population, up 0.6 percentage points. Gender imbalance is
another side effect of the onechild policy, as Chinese parents’
preference for sons has led to
abortions of female foetuses.
In the past 20 years, the sex
ratio of newborns has remained
above 115 to 100 (men to
women). In 2014, the ratio
dropped to 115.88 to 100 from
117.6 to 100 in 2013.
Yang Wenzhuang of the
National Health and Family
Planning Commission said the
number of Chinese women of
childbearing age has declined
while the number of births has
increased, showing the effect of
the changes to the birth policy.
The changed policy was piloted in east China’s Zhejiang
Province in January 2014, and
couples nationwide may now
have a second child if either parent is an only child.
As of the end of 2014, around
one million couples had applied
to have a second child.
China’s labour force, aged
from 15 to 59, decreased by 3.45
million year on year in 2012,
A visit to boost climate change fight
The 29th anniversary of the Edsa
People Power Revolution was a first
in nearly three decades of
remembering the fall of the Marcos
dictatorship, as protesters
outnumbered those who
commemorated the historic event
on Wednesday. The low turnout is in
line with the administration’s lowkey celebration of the event.
Asked about the thin crowd,
Communications Secretary
Herminio Coloma Jr. quoted
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa:
“This year’s celebration was made
simple in view of the mourning
period for those who died in
Mamasapano last month. For the
first time in five years, the holding of
a Mass was a focal point of the
celebration.” In fact, the number of
presidential guards as well as the
VIPs invited to the event nearly
equaled the crowd that stood in front
of the stage bedecked in yellow
flowers.
- PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
The family of Malaysian
opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
said Wednesday they had sought a
royal pardon for his conviction on
sodomy charges to reverse a “gross
miscarriage of justice”.
Anwar’s family submitted the
request to the country’s king, Sultan
Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, on
Tuesday just ahead of a deadline.
Anwar was convicted on
February 10 and sentenced to five
years in jail in what he called a
“political conspiracy” by Malaysia’s
long-ruling government.
“He is innocent,” said Nurul
Izzah, Anwar’s daughter and a
member of parliament. “He is the
victim of a gross miscarriage of
justice and it is our constitutional
right to seek to right that wrong.”
The application is widely
considered to have little chance of
success due to the conservative
nature of Malaysia’s figurehead
Islamic royalty and its perceived
closeness to the regime of Prime
Minister Najib Razak.
- AFP
AFP
Family of Malaysia’s
Anwar seek royal
pardon
French actress Marion Cotillard talks to the media. She joins French President Francois Hollande’s
two-day trip to Manila.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
MANILA
French President Francois
Hollande arrived in Manila on
Thursday for a two-day visit
aimed at boosting trade and
highlighting the urgent need to
intensify the fight against climate
change.
Hollande brought with him
public figures known for their
environmental advocacy, such as
Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent
and Patriarch Bartholomew, in a
bid to drum up support for global
efforts to address the dangers of
climate change. Hollande, who
became the first French leader to
visit the Philippines since it
became an independent state in
1946, was scheduled to visit the
remote town of Guiuan in the
eastern province of Samar, which
was among the worst-hit areas
when Typhoon Haiyan struck in
2013. The French leader was also
to formally open a climate
change forum in Manila.
International environment
group Greenpeace hailed the
visit of Hollande as a positive
step “to show to the rest of the
world that climate change is real
and happening in vulnerable
countries like the Philippines,
that have a small carbon footprint but are facing the brunt of
the climate crisis.”
Anna Abad, climate justice
campaigner for Greenpeace, said
Hollande should take leadership
in tackling climate change, which
she described as “the biggest
humanitarian, environmental and
security threat the world faces.”
“President Hollande must
make the commitment - in his
native France and internationally
- to phase out fossil fuels and
nuclear energy, and instead transition to renewable energy by
putting a stop to the social and
climate injustice happening in
countries like the Philippines,”
she said.
Wild peach branches disappear in Vietnam
Viet Nam News
HANOI
It’s hard to find ancient wild
peach branches on sale in the
northern mountainous province of Son La, due to their
overexploitation by the local
people.
Wild peach is an ornamental
tree used by the people of the
northern region during the
Lunar New Year Festival.
In recent years, people in Ha
Noi and other northern provinces have shown increased
preference for wild peach
branches in decorating their
homes during Tet, instead of
the usual cultivated ones from
Hanoi’s Nhat Tan Village.
The massive exploitation of
the trees, especially old trees,
has made them scarce.
National Highway No 6, running through Yen Chau and
Moc Chau districts of Son La
Province, was bustling with the
sale and purchase of the trees.
However, several buyers
there said that they found it
hard to get wild peach branches as beautiful as they desired.
Nguyen Van Manh, from the
northern Ha Nam Province,
said that he has driven to Son
La every year to buy ancient
wild peach tree branches for
Tet, and he always got beautiful
ones.
But this year, he couldn’t
find any good branches. He
even went to the villages of the
ethnic H’Mong minority people
and visited their gardens, but it
was in vain, he said.
In the province’s markets,
peach branches are sold for
rates between VND200,000
(US$9.4) and VND2 million
(US$94), depending on their
type.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
9
ASEAN+
‘End of the
line’ for
some plants
Wattay International Airport
Zhong Nan and Yuran
CHINA DAILY
Inside the passenger terminal at the main airport in Vientiane.
Urgent expansion
for Vientiane airport
Vientiane Times
The international terminal at
Vientiane’s Wattay International
Airport is in immediate need of
expansion, even though the government plans to build a bigger
airport on another site, a senior
government official has said.
The Civil Aviation Department
predicts that expansion of the
terminal, which is planned for n
ext year, would enable the airport
to accommodate the growing
number of passenger arrivals
until 2028. At present, the international terminal is overcrowded
during peak times.
Wattay International Airport is
overcrowded when the number of
passengers exceeds 400 people
per hour, the department’s
Deputy Director General,
Inthanousone Sisanon, said yesterday.
“When a plane is delayed or
when two large aircraft carrying
more than 400 people land soon
after each other, the terminal is
crowded. We are already experiencing this situation,” he said.
The expansion of the terminal
is expected to begin early next
year and will be financed by a
low interest loan from Japan, the
department’s Director General,
Yakua Lopangkao, said recently.
The project will have a price
tag of about 800 billion kip
(US$100 million). Construction
will be undertaken by a Japanese
company and is expected to be
complete in 2018.
“We plan to accept a low interest loan from the government of
Japan to expand the existing
international terminal,” Yakua
said. The project will include
knocking down the domestic terminal to make space for an
enlarged international terminal
while a new domestic terminal
will be built at the same time.
The expansion will be the final
construction project at Wattay
International Airport as there is
no more land available for further extensions, Yakua said.
To accommodate the rapid
rise in passenger arrivals in the
long run, the government plans
to build a new international airport in the suburbs of Vientiane.
It is believed the government
will soon grant a licence to a
local and Chinese joint venture to
carry out a feasibility study on
the construction of a new international airport.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the study is
expected to be signed this
month, Yakua said.
The proposed site is about
35km from the city centre alongside Road No. 13 South. The feasibility study is expected to take
at least two years to determine
whether the area is suitable, after
which the Civil Aviation
Department will report the
results to the government for recommendation.
If approved and once construction work starts, it will take
at least five years to complete.
The government initially
planned to build a new international airport in the Dongmarkhai
area in Xaythany district along
Road No. 10, about 18km outside
the city centre.
But a 2008 study undertaken
by a Korean company noted that
the area proposed, a 5,000-hectare site, contained many houses,
offices, a market and the
National Stadium and was not
particularly suitable.
The new airport, once complete, would be the Lao New
International Airport and would
replace Wattay International
Airport.
“The proposed new airport is
expected to replace Wattay
International Airport some time
after 2028,” Mr Inthanousone
said.
Wattay airport will be considered for another use, possibly for
domestic flights, a military airfield for use by government leaders, or as a pilots’ training school
which the government plans to
build.
Samsung gobbles up tech start-ups
The Korea Herald
Samsung Electronics vice
chairman Lee Jay-young is making a big push to absorb young
tech firms around the world as
part of efforts to create new software and service offerings and
finally secure new revenue sources. Since chairman Lee Kun-hee
was hospitalised after suffering a
heart attack in May, the Korean
tech giant, led by the son, has
acquired or invested in 11 international start-ups. This compares with 18 acquisitions made
between 2007 and 2013.
For South Korea’s family-run
conglomerates, acquiring another company is usually a timeconsuming process in which
every phase of the decision
should be confirmed by the charismatic chairman.
The Samsung heir’s unusually
speedy management hints at a
sign of change not just at
Samsung but also in South
Korea’s long-held corporate culture. The acquisitions are largely
led by the company’s Open
Innovation Center in Palo Alto,
California, which acts as an
investing arm and start-up accel-
erator for US companies that
Samsung is interested in.
In response to the uncertain
smartphone outlook, one of the
key focus areas for Samsung, the
world’s largest smartphone-maker, has been the Internet of
Things. The company recently
announced it would sync up all
its connected gadgets by 2020.
In recent months, Samsung
acquired SmartThings, a platform developer for smart home
devices; Quietside, a distributor
of heating and air conditioning
products; and Proximal Data, a
solid-state drive software compa-
ny, all of them based in the
United States. Other buyouts
included Canadian mobile printing solution company PrinterOn,
Israeli sensor technology company Early Sense and Brazilian
printing solutions company
Simpress. And the most important acquisition came last week LoopPay, a US-based mobile
payments technology start-up. In
the red-hot mobile wallet market
dominated by Apple and Google,
Samsung is expected to launch
its own service system soon to
compete head-on with its powerful rivals.
Nearly 100 manufacturing businesses along the
coast failed to re-open as
Spring Festival drew to a
close on Tuesday, underscoring the weakness in
global market demand and
adding pressure on the
world’s second-largest economy to upgrade its export
sector.
State broadcaster China
National Radio on Monday
reported that some 100 factories that made garments,
furniture and daily necessities remained closed or suspended, the victims of
declining foreign orders and
rising operating costs. The
factories are in Wenzhou,
Zhejiang province and
Dongguan, Guangdong
province. Both provinces are
part of China’s traditional
industrial bases.
“Market demand has
shrunk dramatically in both
domestic and overseas markets, which has led to the
ongoing closure of factories
in Wenzhou,” said Zheng
Chen’ai, chairman of the
Wenzhou Chamber of
Clothing Commerce.
“In the past two years,
more than 10 per cent of the
garment factories in
Wenzhou have had to shut
down or reduce their operations due to the rising costs
of labour and materials,
overcapacity and narrower
profit margins,” Zheng said.
Zheng said the factories’
former international clients
had shifted about 20 per
cent of their orders to
Southeast Asian countries.
Chen Yaohua, chairman
of the Dongguan Association
of Textile and Garment
Industry, said that even
though many Dongguan garment factories are now less
dependent on the foreign
market, exports are still the
mainstay because original
equipment manufacturing
accounts for most of their
business.
These factories rely
largely on their own working
capital to complete orders.
The biggest concern for
Dongguan’s garment, shoe
and furniture exporters is
that foreign companies pay
only after goods are delivered.
“I know that hundreds of
medium-sized factories in
Dongguan shut down before
the Chinese New Year and
more will close because
they have been under pressure from constantly
decreasing demand in the
past two to three years,”
said Gong Ying, general
manager of Dongguan
Hongxu Shoes Co.
That company has cut
the number of production
lines from seven to four
since the end of 2013.
LIFESTYLE
Looking for
love in Yangon
Lin Lin Khaing
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Miss Thailand World 2014’s
second-runner Chattarika
Sittiprom has been cast in the
lead role for “TT & Donut”, a
joint film project with a Thai studio, in which she plays opposite
three-time Academy Award winner Pyay Ti Oo. In Yangon
recently to attend the film’s
press conference, the Thai
actress took time out to talk to
Myanmar Eleven about the sheer
happiness that she’s derived
from fulfilling her dream as an
actress in this exclusive interview.
How do you expect the film’s
reception to be once it hits the
theatres in Myanmar and
Thailand?
Having observed the shooting
in Myanmar, I would say the
Myanmar team are highly professional. They are also quite close
to each other. I expect the film to
be a great success. I hope audiences of both countries will give
their support to the film. When
the film opens in Thailand, it will
enjoy popular support, I guess,
because there are many
Myanmar people [residing] in
Thailand. This is very interesting
because it is a joint collaboration
between Myanmar and Thailand.
Were you surprised to learn
that you’d landed the role?
I was very excited and happy
as well. It’s become all the more
exciting especially when you
know the film will be released in
both Myanmar and Thailand. I
will do my best in my work.
How much do you know
about your co-star?
I believe my co-star Pyay Ti
Oo will help me a lot. I have
learnt that he is quite famous in
Myanmar. He is an Academy
Award-winning actor. That’s why
I believe he must have gained
valuable practical experience.
I’ve asked him to help identify
my weaknesses so that I can
improve myself and meet the
film’s requirements whenever
we’re on the set.
Tell us about your work in
Thailand.
I was one of the contestants
in Miss Teen beauty pageant,
and later competed in Miss
Thailand World 2014, from which
I emerged as the second runnerup. I have done some commercials and modelling for fashion
shows and have appeared on
magazine covers. This is my
debut film.
10
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, February 27, 2015
knew it was impossible to turn
down offers like that. I have
always dreamed of being in
entertainment since I was young.
I believe my time with this film
will be filled with many good
experiences as I’ve gone from
modelling to acting.
Have you met any Myanmar
people living in Thailand? What
do you think of them?
Myanmar and Thailand
already have a good relationship.
There are many Myanmar people
in Thailand.
Thai and Myanmar people
have similar faces so it’s difficult
to tell them apart when you first
meet them. I have often seen the
Myanmar people so I can’t really
differentiate between Myanmar
and Thai people. Regardless,
Myanmar and Thai people are all
the same.
How are you preparing for
the role?
I’m supposed not to talk
about my role in advance
because I want it to be a surprise
for the audience. I’m doing everything I could for my role.
I hear you are pursuing a BA
in journalism and mass communication. Are you very interested
in it?
Yes. I’m interested in it. I think
this is something related to my
work. That’s why I chose to study
this programme. As I started out
on this course, I found that it was
quite related to the entertainment industry.
Why did you decide to take
on this role?
I think this is a great opportunity that I should not miss. I
believe I can gain valuable experience as this is a joint collaboration. Knowing that I will be playing opposite an Academy Awardwinning actor like Pyay Ti Oo, I
Any word to the Myanmar
fans?
I have done a lot in preparation for this film. I will immerse
myself in it once filming starts. I
will try to meet every requirement by learning on the job. I
want to tell the Myanmar fans to
give me their support.
A South Korean documentary zooms in on Aung San
Aung Thu Nyein
MYANMAR ELEVEN
EMG
Magway
Part of the shooting for ‘Famous Hero in Asia“ takes place at the Panglong Monument in Panglong
of southern Shan State.
Bogyoke Aung San’s heroic
struggle to free Myanmar from
the British colonial yoke has
inspired a South Korean documentary on his life. “Famous
Hero in Asia” is directed by June
Gloong Kim with screenplay by
Jiyun Yod.
“In South Korea, we’re striving for democracy. I came upon
the idea of making a documentary about him after reading books
on Myanmar politician Aung San
Suu Kyi and her father,” said
Soohwan Cho.
The documentary’s film crew
was in Myanmar recently to capture the recent Aung San’s centenary celebrations, visit Aung
San’s childhood schools in
Natmauk and Yenanchaung and
a public rest house in Kanpya village, Magway Township where he
delivered a famous speech.
They also visited Panglong
where the historic Panglong
Agreement was signed as well as
other areas in Yangon closely
intertwined with his life.
“The documentary will cover
Japan and the United Kingdom
as well as important places in his
life. We plan to release the film
by June in South Korea first.
Then, we will air the documentary on BBC and release it in Asia
later,” he said.
“I want to tell the people who
are making that biopic about
Myanmar’s national leader that
we are striving for democracy in
South Korea. Now, Myanmar is
on the path of reforms.
I think it’s going to be tops in
Asia if those reforms materialise,” he added.