2015 Mtedailytest 2

Heartbeat of the nation
500
Ks.
www.mmtimes.com
DAILY EDITION
Test ISSUE 2 | Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Activist
awarded
US prize
CHERRY THEIN
t.cherry6@gmail.com
PAGE
Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing
Tempers fray at Letpadan as students defy authorities

Activists and police continued their tense stand-off in Bago Regions Letpadan township
yesterday, with demonstrators launching a hunger strike and ignoring an order from
the authorities to end their protest by 4pm.
A KACHIN activist for gender equality

has won the 2015 International Women of Courage Award. Daw May Sabe
Phyu, executive director of the Gender
Equality Network, was one of 10 winners and is the second to be selected
from Myanmar.
She will collect the prize at a ceremony in Washington DC tomorrow.
In 2012, Daw Zin Mar Aung won the
award for her efforts in promoting the
role of women in politics, encouraging
civil society organisations for their work
on democratisation of the country.
Daw May Sabe Phyu told The Myanmar Times the award would inspire her
to continue her work on gender equality. She said she was deeply honoured
to receive the award and thanked her
family, friends and colleagues.
Ive tried to remain steadfast in
my determination. My husband always
says I stay honest no matter how wicked and dishonest other people are, she
said.
Daw May Sabe Phyu also contributes
to the Kachin Womens Network, and
the Womens Protection Technical Working Group for Gender Perspectives.
The participants will have the opportunity to attend the IWOC Award
Ceremony, hosted by Secretary of State
John Kerry, at the Department of State
in Washington tomorrow.
Participants will also participate in a
policy briefing with a departmental official about international womens issues.
The annual Secretary of States International Women of Courage Awards
was established in 2007 to honour
women around the globe who have
shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating human rights
and womens equality, often at great
personal risk.
Govt, NLD criticised after talks

Lack of detail on what was discussed during March 2 meeting between President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw prompts political observers to issue call for greater transparency, particularly from NLD. news 3
2 News
THE MYANMAR TIMES March 4, 2015
Students in
Bago ignore
govt deadline
Tensions in Letpadan remain high after police block
attempt to march and students begin hunger strike
Mratt
Kyaw Thu
Activists demonstrate outside City Hall in Yangon yesterday. Photo: Thiri
mrattkthu@gmail.com
Activists in Yangon, Mandalay

rally in support of marchers
Lun Min Mang
lunmin.lm@gmail.com
Si Thu Lwin
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
POLITICAL activists and students
rallied in Yangon and Mandalay yesterday, calling on the authorities not
to use violence against students engaged in a tense stand-off with police
in Bago Region (see related story
right).
In Mandalay, about 50 political activists and student leaders
staged a sit-down protest at 3pm,
criticising the authorities for stopping student marchers from setting

off from Letpadan for Yangon the
previous day.
The protest at the southern part of
Mandalays moat ended peacefully after about 90 minutes of negotiations
between protest leaders and Mandalay Region Minister for Security and
Border Affairs Colonel Aung Kyaw
Moe.
We held the protest because the
students are being oppressed by
the security forces in Letpadan. We
showed that we are united with the
Activists rally beside Mandalays moat yesterday. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
students who are marching to Yangon

from Letpadan. This is a peaceful protest. We are not shouting anything,
said Ko Nyan Nay Linn, a spokesperson for the student union in Mandalay district.
Col Aung Kyaw Moe urged the students to respect the law. We told you
to act according to the law. If you do
not care for the law, please just get in
the police car now, Col Aung Kyaw
Moe said.
In Yangon, the 30 to 40 pro-student activists who gathered for the
demonstration in front of City Hall
were outnumbered by reporters and
photographers, as well as a large contingent of riot police who kept their
distance and did not intervene as
they marched around Sule Pagoda,
aided by traffic police.
Please dont harm the students
because they have no arms and they
are not engaging in violence. Let
them into Yangon. Nothing would be
troubled if they are allowed in, said
Ko Moe Thway, a political activist
who led the protest.
Though students have informed
the authorities that they are going
to march to Yangon and then go
back to their homes, the government did not care. The government
shows no mercy as it has banned the
students from entering Yangon, he
said.
Kyauktada township police confirmed that the demonstration went
ahead without official permission.
MANDALAY students and monks

ramped up their campaign against
the National Education Law by
launching a hunger strike yesterday
and defying deadlines to disperse
set by the authorities. Hundreds of
police continued to block the students from resuming a march toward Yangon from a monastery in
Bago Regions Letpadan township.
The hunger-strikers were among
100 students protesting against the
National Education Law outside
Aung Myae Beikman Monastery,
joined by 10 monks in prayer. They
had set out in the morning from the
monastery to continue their long
march from Mandalay to Yangon but
got less than 100 metres (328 feet)
before more than 500 police barred
them from reaching the main road.
Some 300 residents shouted
their support for the students from
behind the police lines and started
to surge forward, pushing the police closer to the students. A brief
clash ensued and tempers flared as
one female student was beaten and
injured by police, who have blocked
the marchers in Letpadan, some
130 kilometres (80 miles) from Yangon, since March 2.
The group, which has no official
permit to hold the rally, ignored a
deadline to disperse by 4pm.
They need to stop. If they dont
follow what we say, we need to take
action against them, government
spokesperson U Ye Htut was quoted
as saying by news agency AFP.
He urged the protesters to
halt their rally and await the deliberations of parliament, which
is conducting consultations on
amendments to the controversial
framework education law approved
last September.
The government has agreed to

changes demanded by the students
that include provisions for free student unions, autonomy for universities, a higher education budget and
use of mother tongue instruction for
education in primary school among
the countrys diverse ethnic minorities. But doubts persist that parliament will approve the amendments,
with the Amyotha Hluttaw, or upper
house, announcing that it would hold
consultations from March 5 to 15.
The government appears determined to prevent the students from
reaching Yangon, scene of the mass
protests in 1988 that led to a bloody
crackdown by the military. But at
the same time officials have demonstrated a willingness to make concessions during negotiations with
student leaders over the content of
the law.
They need to stop.

If they dont follow
what we say, we
need to take action
against them.
U Ye Htut
Presidential spokesperson
In Letpadan, leaders of the townships Sangha association arrived

to try and persuade the students
and monks to meet again with the
regions minister for border affairs.
But several meetings over the past
two days with Minister for Security
and Border Affairs Colonel Thet Tun
have so far yielded no results, with
the last round lasting three hours.
Col Thet Tun has refused a request from students to march from
Letpadan to nearby Tharyarwady,
from where they would proceed to
Yangon by car.
www.mmtimes.com
News editor: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com
Lawyer argues no intent in Buddha bar trial

Oliver Slow
newsroom@mmtimes.com
THE lawyer for a New Zealand bar
manager on trial for allegedly insulting religion said he believes the defence put forward a strong and good
argument in its closing arguments
yesterday.
However, lawyer U Mya Thway
warned that it was hard to say what
would happen when the sentence is
handed down on March 17.
He made the comments after final
arguments were heard in the case of
Philip Blackwood, manager of VGastro
Bar in Yangon, as well as bar owner U
Tun Thurein and co-manager Ko Htut
Ko Ko Lwin, at Bahan Township Court
on March 3.
The three were arrested on December 10, 2014, and have been charged
with two counts of insulting religion,
under section 295 and 295(a) of the Penal Code, and one of disobeying a civil
servants instruction.
The charges stem from the posting of a picture of the Buddha wearing
headphones on the now-closed bars
Facebook page to promote a cheap
drinks night.
The image was widely shared on
Facebook and attracted significant
criticism. On realising the offence
caused, it was deleted and an apology posted on the Facebook page expressing regret at their embarrassing ignorance.
The trio could face up to four years
in prison if convicted. They have all
POLITICIANS have urged President

U Thein Sein and opposition leader
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to demonstrate more transparency after few
details emerged of their rare talks on
the evening of March 2.
The government said in a brief
statement after their meeting at the
presidents house in Nyi Pyi Taw that
they had discussed amendments to
the constitution and holding a free
and fair general election later this
year. A spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy
said he knew nothing more than the
official statement.
Political parties and analysts welcomed the meeting their sixth since
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released
from house arrest in November 2010.
But they were sceptical that the talks
had not included other important issues, such as student protests over
a new education law and the crisis
Aid agencies
call for truce
and access
in Kokang
Guy Dinmore
guydinmore@gmail.com
Philip Blackwood leaves court following a hearing on December 26, 2014. Photo: AFP
pleaded not guilty but been denied bail

and are being held at Insein Prison.
The section 295 charge only applies in cases where there is an intent
to insult religion, while the section
295(a) charge refers to deliberate and
malicious acts intended to outrage religious feeling.
Speaking in court on March 3, Mr
Blackwoods lawyer, U Mya Thway,
called for authorities to release his
client because there was no intent to
cause offence when the image was

posted.
He added that the prosecution
must show proof that his client intended to offend to secure a conviction.
I have asked for Mr Phillips released based on the fact that there was
no intention [to cause offence]. The
image was only used for the promotion of the night. I think we have made
a strong and good argument, but I
cannot say what will happen, U Mya
Thway said outside court.

Prosecutors said that the Buddhas
image should not be used for promotional purposes. Sentencing has been
set for March 17.
Mr Blackwood has previously released a statement expressing faith in
the judge and judicial system.
I trust that the judge has the
strength and integrity to only focus
on the facts of the case and to ignore
outside influences, the statement said.
President, Daw Suu under

fire for lack of transparency
Ei Ei Toe Lwin
eieitoelwin@gmail.com
News 3
in the border region of Kokang that

prompted the president to impose
martial law there last month.
We welcome the meeting, although we have not got any specific
information yet. The government said
they discussed two important issues,
but I think they discussed more issues than they released to the media,
said the general secretary of the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy,
U Sai Nyunt Lwin. They should be
transparent about the meeting But
I think [the dialogue] is not over yet. I
At the moment we
can say we only
know as much as
everyone else.
U Nyan Win
NLD spokesperson
expect they will meet again.

Analysts singled out the NLD for
not revealing any information to the
public, even if the government was
also silent.
If they [the NLD] really stand
for the people, as a strong opposition party, they should reveal to
others what kinds of issues they
discussed, what kind of agreements
they reached and what are their next
plans, said U Yan Myo Thein.
He said he doubted the meeting
would bring positive results. I think
they just met to solve the current
problems in the short term, not the
long term because this is not their first
meeting. It was the sixth time, but we
have never seen any other improvement for the future of the country because they cant reach a concrete commitment between them, he said.
He said that in the context of
national reconciliation the NLD
seemed to be afraid of doing anything that could lead to a breakdown
in relations with the government.
Responding to criticism of the

NLDs silence, U Nyan Win, party
spokesperson, said the NLD had no
more information than the government had released. At the moment
we can say we know as much as everyone else, U Nyan Win said.
He added he was not sure whether
the NLD would release further details.
Critics of the 69-year-old opposition leader question what they see as
her autocratic direction over a party
that appears to lack the institutional
capacity needed to run a government.
The NLD has not yet committed
itself to taking part in the elections,
and no date has been set for the polls.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has focused
on campaigning first for a change in
the constitution which was written
by the military with a clause preventing anyone with a foreign spouse or
children from becoming president.
The NLD leader has two British sons.
The constitution also guarantees
the military 25 percent of seats in
parliament.
UNITED Nations agencies have called

for a truce in the Kokang border area so
that assistance can be sent to thousands
of people displaced during more than
three weeks of fighting between government forces and ethnic Chinese rebels.
UNICEF, along with humanitarian
partners, appeals to all parties to the
conflict for safe humanitarian access
to allow for delivery of humanitarian
assistance to all those who are affected
by the conflict, and to allow for the resumption of basic services as soon as
possible, the UN Childrens Fund said
yesterday.
Tens of thousands of people have
been displaced by the conflict, with
many ethnic Chinese residents of the
area in northern Shan state fleeing
across the border into Chinas Yunnan
province.
UNICEF said its offices in Myanmar and China were facing challenges in getting accurate information
about the situation and what support
was being provided to children who
had crossed the border.
According to our sources, the situation remains very fluid with thousands of people on the move, the
majority of whom are women and
children, UNICEF said.
Myanmar and China have restricted media access to the remote border
region, which has been the centre of a
thriving trade in narcotics and other
illicit goods for decades.
Almost no information on civilian
casualties has been released by either
side. Official Myanmar media have
described life returning to normality
under martial law in the main town of
Laukkai.
But UNICEF said the provision of
basic services there remained interrupted, although they were resuming
in the townships of Muse and Kutkai.
The rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, fighting to regain
control of territory it lost in 2009, has
called for a ceasefire. The government
accuses the rebels of triggering the latest conflict and has rejected its ceasefire
offer, which was backed by China. The
Myanmar Red Cross suspended its operations on February 17 after its workers
were wounded by unknown gunmen.
UNICEF and the World Health Organization want to resume a measles
and rubella immunisation campaign
which they said had made remarkable
progress before fighting erupted.
However an estimated 35 percent
of children remain to be vaccinated,
which will not be possible until a truce
is implemented. In many other parts
of the world, truces have been agreed
upon between fighting parties to let
immunisation teams do their work,
and this is what is needed in Kokang
now, UNICEF said.
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Revenue, water leaking out

of the failing YCDC network
Kyaw
Phone
Kyaw
k.phonekyaw@gmail.com
YANGONS water woes are leaving

customers parched and the city coffers dry. The patchwork system of
antiquated pipes and meters is losing
large amounts of water and revenue,
according to a new survey.
To diagnose the myriad problems
plaguing the citys waterworks, French
companies Egis Eau and Water Management International surveyed three
townships: Tarmwe, Thingangyun and
Thaketa.
Between 56 to 75 percent of the water distributed to the three townships
by Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) leaks out en route to the
consumer, the study estimated.
Losses are currently minimised
by the low pressure but are likely to
rise as pressure increases to pipe
water to the citys ever-expanding urban
population.
This indicator is an alert for the future: It shows the potential of leakage
increase when the pressure conditions
will be improved is very high, said
Egis project manager Jean-Charles
Belley, who presented the survey results at a conference on February 26.
YCDC pumps out 200 million
gallons of water every day, reaching just 35 pc of Yangon residents,
according to estimates by Japan
International Cooperation Agency
(JICA).
The municipal authorities hope to
supply 540 million gallons of water
daily by 2040, which will ideally reach
80 percent of the citys population,
according to Masaru Matsuoka from
JICA.
At the moment, the plumbing infrastructure cannot handle such a
large increase in demand and water
flow, however.
Part of the problem lies with pipes
that are more than 100 years old, as
well as a haphazard plumbing system that was built without adherence to any sort of standards, said Mr
Matsuoka.
Before more customers can hook
into the city water system, there is
also a long list of problems related to
billing and connection that require
untangling.
In Thingangyun, 68 pc of the
meters are unreadable, leading to
water bills being estimated or not issued at all, the survey by the French
companies found.
In Tarmwe, 50 pc of the water bills
listed the wrong customer name, an
issue also affecting 31 pc of surveyed
Thinganyun residents.
Data management and operation-
Water is distributed amongst plastic containers in Yangons Dala township in 2012. Photo: Kaung Htet
al procedures must be implemented

and improved, said Mr Belley of Egis.
In terms of data management, the
township offices are clogged with paperwork. A plan to digitise the customer records is under way, but the
city still lacks any sort of mapping of

its water meters or network losses.
The slapdash record-keeping and
deteriorating infrastructure are taking a hefty financial toll: In a predictive scenario where nonrevenue water
Yangons water woes
Thingangyun
Water bill with the wrong
customer name 31%
Tarmwe
Water bill with the wrong
customer name 50%
Water meter unreadable 68%
Water meter unreadable 18%

Source: Egis Eau and Water Management International
water lost before it reaches the consumer was estimated at 79 pc, YCDC
income losses could total up to 72 pc,
according to the survey.
In 2011, YCDC lost 66 pc of its
possible revenues, according to JICA,
which is helping to reduce that number to 15 pc by 2040.
According to a JICA study last year,
the citys income from the piped water is so paltry that YCDC cannot afford to sufficiently construct new infrastructure, let alone repair the old
waterworks.
The Egis and Water Management
teams hope to fix the monetary and
water leaks through a series of strategies and proposals put forward
based on the survey from the three
townships.
They are already advising the city
to map usage, water lines, water pressure and other data through a centralised Geographical Information
System. However, YCDC is ambivalent
about the proposal.
At the present moment, we have
started training our staffs and engineers because we also have the idea
and the plan to expand to this GIS
installation. But it will take time and
may cost a lot, said U Myo Thein, the
deputy chief engineer of YCDC.
U Aye Min, an executive member of
YCDC, said more time is needed to decide whether the municipal body will
adopt a GIS system.
Townships water distribution leaves much to be desired

U Sai Saw Zaw, Thaketa township
We have a water-shortage problem here on weekends. Even on weekdays
the water we get is sometimes frothy and smells very bad so that we cannot use it even for washing things let alone cooking. We have no idea why
that happens Since we are very careful about not using the water when it
looks abnormal, we rarely get diseases or diarrhea.
Daw Khin Soe Myint, 55, Tarmwe township
Water supply is regular here. These days, not only is the water we get
unlimited, but it is also good in quality. About two years ago, we could only
get water at night, we sometimes had to stay awake late in order to avoid
competition with other residents in our flat. The water we got back then
was not hygienic enough even for bathing. We do not have that problem
anymore. Another great thing YCDC is doing nowadays is that if they want
to fix problems along the pipelines, they announce in the newspapers in
advance that water will be cut off for some time.
Daw Phyu Phyu Lwin, 55, Thaketa township

We have not been getting water from YCDC for almost six months. This
problem exists only with us; we have never heard our neighbors complaining about this. The root of this problem is that the pipe that branches out
from the main YCDC pipeline to our home was not installed properly.
We asked for help from YCDC, but they said that we have to pay K50,000
[US$50] to fix that. We cannot afford that much.
U Maung Maung Lwin, 48, Thingangyun township
The quality of water, I must say, is clear without much sediment in it.
Though we do cook using that water, we do not drink it My suggestion is that [YCDC] should provide better-quality water so that we can
confidently drink the water too. One reason why our water has been
clearer lately is because we [the town residents] re-fixed the pipes by
ourselves and changed the worn parts. It cost each household approximately K10,000 [US$10]. Aung Kyaw Min and Nay Zaw Aung Min
News 5
www.mmtimes.com
Koh Tao defence Teachers tapped to conduct

team finds three voter education on holidays
key witnesses
Lun Min Mang
lunminlm@gmail.com
Nyan lYnN
aung
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com
A MYANMAR team investigating the

Koh Tao island case in Thailand says it
has identified eyewitnesses to the murder of two British backpackers who
could help to free two migrant workers facing a possible death sentence for
their alleged involvement in the crime.
U Aung Myo Thant, a member of a
Myanmar embassy investigation team,
said the three were all Myanmar citizens who had been reluctant to come
forward before because they want to
continue working in Thailand.
We are satisfied they were eyewitnesses to the crimes, and we want to
get statements from them, he said
yesterday.
U Aung Myo Thant said one of the
eyewitnesses saw the men who accompanied the British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller from
the hotel shortly before the murder.
Another witness said he had seen the
rape by the light of his motorbike.
They are telling the truth, but they
are afraid to speak out in court, said
U Kyaw Thaung, another member of
the investigation team and director of

a Myanmar association in Thailand.
Myanmar investigators have filed
the names of 31 witnesses with the
court, including two foreigners, and
have collected detailed evidence from
them.
The suspects, Ko Zaw Lin and Ko
Wai Phyo, both 21, could face trial in
July. Thai prosecutors said last week
they would seek the death penalty.
The Guardian newspaper reported
on March 1 that British police might
have breached legal guidelines by providing evidence to Thai authorities
that could potentially help them execute the two Myanmar suspects.
Britains Foreign Office told rights
group Reprieve that four English police forces conducted interviews about
the case at the request of their Thai
counterparts and passed on the information. The Guardian reported that
under a British government protocol,
British police and officials should not
normally provide evidence when defendants face capital punishment in
a foreign jurisdiction without getting
assurances a death sentence will not
be carried out.
Reprieve has also accused British
police and officials of giving onesided assistance by handing information to Thai authorities but refusing to
share it with the defence.
VOTER education will begin after

the schools close, said Union Election Commission (UEC) chair U Tin
Aye during a coordination meeting with CSOs and political parties.
Schoolteachers will be deployed
across the country to conduct the
training between March and May.
U Tin Aye said the education
process would start by training the
trainers, who would then carry out
programs at the township, ward and
village levels.
We have distributed copies of the
electoral law, rules and guidebooks
[to education personnel]. They will
now study them to build up their
electoral knowledge, he said.
We will also distribute pamphlets and handouts of dos and
donts, showing what voters should
know and must know about the
election.
While U Tin Aye did not state exactly who would be responsible for
conducting the education campaign,
The Myanmar Times understands
state school teachers will be employed. Teachers were also used to
help run polling stations and carry
out education activities during the
2010 election.
The Union Election Commissions
reliance on government staff has
drawn criticism, with U Aye Lwin,
chair of the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics party, saying yesterday that the commissions
Officials conduct training for polling station officials, including state school
teachers, prior to the 2010 election. Photo: Christopher Davy
structure should be reviewed to ensure the election can take place freely
and fairly.
The UEC is still dependent on
the Ministry of Education, he said,
adding that the commission should
have its own staff to carry out training and conduct the election.
Though the electoral plan calls
for voter education to precede
voter registration, little or no training has yet been carried out. Voter
registration began last year and is
proceeding throughout the country,

except in conflict-stricken regions.
Some CSOs are educating voters,
and our organisation is doing what
we can, U Thant Sin of New Myanmar Foundation said. The foundation is an electoral observation and
education organisation.
In his monthly speech, President U Thein Sein said the election would be held in November,
though no specific date has yet been
announced.
6 News
Bribes flow
for official
documents
ID cards and household member lists are meant to
be almost free, but Mandalay residents have accused
officials of charging them thousands of kyat for each
Maung
Zaw
mgzaw.mmtimes@gmail.com
LOW-LEVEL officials are demanding

bribes from villagers to issue national
registration cards and to make routine
changes to other official documents,
residents in rural areas of northern
Mandalay Region have complained.
The villages are in Singu townships Latpanzin, Hintharpho and
Zeekyun village tracts.
Clerks asked us for money to issue us with national registration
cards. The administration office asks
everyone who goes there. We have
to pay because we really need those
cards, said villager Ko San Nyo of
Latpanzin.
Residents said they had to pay at
least K3000 for a Citizenship Scrutiny
Card (CSC), up to K3800 for a household list and K1000 to adjust the list
when registering at Latpanzin village.
Mandalay Region immigration
chief officer U Thaung Zaw confirmed
that the official charge for issuing a
CSC was just K6, and the household
list is issued free.
Latpanzin residents said it was
unclear where the money was going,
because Ministry of Immigration staff
visit and carry out the tasks inside the
home of the village head.
When they complained to the
township authorities, an investigation was carried out after which they
were given the option of taking back
the bribe or getting a CSC.

The investigation changed nothing. We had the same choice pay a
bribe or go without our documents,
said U Thet Naing, who reported the
case. We work every day just so that
we can eat and they took it. The head
office must take action.
In Zeekyun village tract, residents
said administrators charge K5000 for
a CSC and K8000 for a household list.
KYAT
5000
Amount officials are charging for a

Citizenship Scrutiny Card in some parts
of Mandalays Singu township
I have to work every day just to

eat. But I had to borrow K10,000 to
get an NRC for my daughter. Now I
have to pay K20,000, including interest, said Daw San Mi, 60, of Zeekyun.
Administrators at both the village
and township immigration offices in
Singu were reluctant to discuss the
complaints last week. Weve already
explained about that, one official in
Singu told The Myanmar Times.
He declined to explain what had
been explained or who it had been
explained to.
Translation by Khant Lin Oo
Residents protest against a planned gem traders association headquarters in Mogok. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
Mogok protesters stand firm

Si Thu Lwin
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
HUNDREDS of residents from the
gem mining town of Mogok in Mandalay have pitched a protest camp in
opposition to the local gem traders
associations plan to develop a head
office on its iconic lakeshore.
As The Myanmar Times reported
in December, residents are upset
at parkland beside the lake being
used for the headquarters, as well
as a museum, restaurant and other
buildings.
Monks, environmental groups,
religious organisations and environmental groups have all joined
the protest, which was launched on
February 21.
We are still negotiating with
the gems entrepreneurs. We met
them three times, but we didnt
reach any agreement. We opened a
protest camp to see how much the
government will respect the peoples
desire, said Daw Pwint Phyu, vice
chair of the Sein Lan Mogok environmental conservation group.
Ko Aung Thu from the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society said
opponents of the plan had gathered
more than 4000 signatures for a petition, which they plan to send to
the president, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw,
Mandalay Region Hluttaw and others.
The project development has
halted but the construction materials havent been removed. Thats
why the protest camp is still
We opened a
protest camp to
see how much the
government will
respect the
peoples desire.
Daw Pwint Phyu
Environmental activist
open, he said.
The Mandalay Region government granted permission to the
Mogok Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association to develop
parkland beside the lake in an effort
to increase job opportunities, said
regional Minister for Mining and
Forestry U Than Soe Myint.
He confirmed that work had now
been suspended.
The regional government approved the project because town
elders and the responsible person
from the gem entrepreneurs association applied to build the office
there, he said.
We granted permission for the
project in order to develop Mogok
to get job opportunities for youths
there and to attract foreigner [gem]
buyers.
But an official at the Mogok
Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs
Association told The Myanmar
Times that plans to develop Mogok
are still in the works for some point
early this year.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
News 7
www.mmtimes.com
Views
What are you doing, parliament?

Sithu Aung
Myint
MYANMAR is at boiling point. In the

Kokang region of Shan State, there
has been heavy fighting between
the Tatmadaw and the Myanmar
National Democratic Alliance Army.
Government soldiers have also fought
against other armed ethnic groups in
recent weeks.
The Tatmadaw has accused ethnic
armed groups the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the United Wa State
Army, the New Democratic Alliance
Army, the Taang National Liberation
Army and the Shan State Army-North
of supporting the Kokang soldiers
in the battle.
Tatmadaw leaders have said that
these ethnic armies need to take
responsibility for their participation
in the Kokang conflict.
In Yangon, meanwhile, factory
workers who demanded wage
increases were attacked, after being
accused of staging a violent protest.
Students demonstrating against the
National Education Law still havent
been able to reach an acceptable conclusion. More and more farmers who
are demanding to get back their own
land have been sent to jail.
The general election is going to be
held soon. In this situation, I want to
ask: What are you doing, parliament?
The parliaments position on the
armed battles is clear. MPs supported
the Tatmadaw and approved the
presidents martial law order immediately. At the same time, the process
Members of parliament attend the opening of a Pyithu Hluttaw session in Nay Pyi Taw on July 4, 2012. Photo: AFP
It is clear that the

parliament led by
Thura U Shwe Mann
has not worked
hard enough for the
legislation that is
needed in Myanmar.
of amending the constitution, which

is vital for reconciliation with ethnic
armed groups, has if anything slowed
down.
We havent even got to the starting
line on the constitutional amendment
bill. Nothing has been submitted to
parliament other than the law to
hold a referendum on constitutional
change.
Given the delays, it seems likely
that speaker Thura U Shwe Manns
promise to approve a constitutional
amendment bill at least six months
out from the election will not be kept.
The 2008 constitution was drafted

to ensure the military retained a place
in national politics and its interests
were not harmed. If it is not amended
even through modest improvements
to encourage democracy or ethnic
equality, peace with ethnic minorities
cannot succeed. There will be no reconciliation between the government
and opposition either.
Forty-two bills have been submitted to parliament but not yet enacted.
Some of these are very important,
such as those on broadcasting,
financial institutions and unlawful
associations.
The Television and Broadcasting
Bill is particularly important in the
context of this years election. This
vote will determine the countrys destiny. Media freedom needs to be established ahead of the election. While
the government has lifted restrictions
on print media, it still keeps a firm
grip in the broadcasting sector.
Only a handful of cronies are allowed to operate television and other
broadcast media. Change will only
come through a new law. However,
debate on the bill has been pending for more than a year. It seems
Thura U Shwe Mann is intentionally
delaying it to keep broadcast media
in the hands of those who support the
government and his party.
While these bills have been put on
ice, debate has began on four draft
protection of religion laws shortly after they were submitted to parliament.
One of these, the Population Control
Healthcare Bill which contains no
penalties and no proper enforcement
of its provisions has already been
passed by the Amyotha Hluttaw.
Amendments to the National
Education Law were submitted to
parliament following four-way talks
between students, the government,
MPs and the National Network for
Education Reform. The student protesters are waiting to see how parliament will deal with the bill. MPs need
to act fast to approve it and defuse
the tension, but instead they have announced a long consultation period.
It is clear that the parliament
led by Thura U Shwe Mann has not
worked hard enough for the legislation that is needed in Myanmar.
Instead it has put its effort into insignificant legislation like the protection of religion bills.
It has a duty to work toward resolving the conflicts erupting around Myanmar, and at the moment it is failing
badly. Translation by Zar Zar Soe
8 THE MYANMAR TIMES March 3, 2015
Business
MPT in
fray with
discount
prices
The Circular Train is moving

into electronic age with its
ticketing. Photo: Kaung Htet
Aung Kyaw Nyunt

aungkyawnyunt28@gmail.com
Computerised ticketing to
arrive at City Circle Train soon
aye
nyein
win
ayenyeinwin.mcm@gmail.com
ABOUT half of the rail stations on

Yangons City Circle Train will be
equipped with computerised ticketing systems, according to Ministry of
Rail Transportation deputy general
manager of lower Myanmar U Tint
Wai.
A contractor is to put in place the
system beginning this month at 15
of the 39 stations on the City Circle
Trains route, he said. It will be installed only at the train stations that
are most in use.
We will also continue to sell
tickets the old way, said U Tint Wai.

The company will build the facilities and be responsible for their own
operation.
The contract will be able to keep a
percentage of daily earnings through
the machine, he said.
The objective is to cut down on
queue times when buying a ticket,
aiming to make the process quick
and easy. The initial installation will
serve as something of a test run, and
the project could be scaled up if it is
successful.
I dont know how the company
became interested in the idea. As
far as I know, they want to introduce their technology, he said. If
its okay, then we will continue using
this system.
Yangons City Circle Train has
enjoyed something of a revival as
increasingly crowded streets results in passengers taking the train

over the bus. While the speed of
the trains is slowly increasing, a
frequent complaint is the uncertain
wait times between each train.
U Tint Wai said the age of the
trains is causing the delays.
Some of the engines have problems, so the trains cannot run on
If its okay, then we

will continue using
this system.
U Tint Wai
Ministry of Rail Transportation
time, he said. We dont do this on

purpose; we want the trains to be
strong. If we cant run, we are losing
profit.
Still, most of the engines are over
20 years old, well beyond proper operating age.
We have plans to buy more train
cars and more engines, he said. For
the time being, commuters are often
stuck with uncertain service.
U Tint Wai said the test project
for electric tickets is to last three
years.
It will be attempted first in Yangon station as well as 14 others
Kyimyindine, Pagoda Street, Thingyun, Hledan, Thamine, Insein,
Tanyingone, Hlawgar, Mingalardon, Tatarlay, Puywatsategone,
Toekyaung Galay, Pazundaung and
Mahlwagone.
MPT has announced a deep discount plan for internet for its Swe
Thahar users, as the three main
operators further experiment with
special pricing.
The discount will see internet
charges drop by 50 percent during
the March 4 to 31 Tabaung period.
It will charge K7.5 for 1MB instead
of its normal K15 per 1MB during
the period.
It is also discounting the price of
some of its internet packages until
March 31.
The discount is only for Swe
Thahar users, meaning users on its
old pricing plan must switch over
before taking advantage. MPTs older pricing plan charged on a time
basis for internet use rather than
volume.
MPT is not the only operator to
have followed a time system of pricing, when it introduced Swe Thahar
earlier this year. Rival Ooredoo has
used this pricing method since it
launched last August.
The third main telco Telenor has
also been offering a range of new
pricing services, launching postpaid late last month.
Postpaid services allow subscribers to pay their bill on a monthly
basis. Telenors users are able to pay
their postpaid bills at select banks as
well as Telenor shops.
The last six months have been a period of rapid change in the telecoms
sector.
The introduction of Ooredoo and
Telenor service in the third quarter
of 2014 brought competition into an
industry that had long been dominated by MPT.
An MPT official claimed the telco had 11 million users as of early
2015.
BUSINESS editor: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com
Last six winners soon

for World Bank
township program
Indias Modi takes

his chance to reform
shortcomings
business 10
BUSINESS 12
Government frets
inflation with wage rise
Aye Thidar
Kyaw
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
PROPOSED wage increases for government workers will put upward

pressure on prices, though experts
differ on exactly how much.
Parliaments Banks and Monetary
Affairs Development Committee expects prices to rise by 8.1 percent next
fiscal year compared year-on-year,
driven higher largely due to the salary rise, according to its secretary U
Win Myint.
Other experts, both in and outside
the government, have estimated a
lower rate of around 6pc.
Parliamentarians said that with
the proposed wage increase for government workers, it is more important than ever to keep a lid on government spending.
Committee member U Phyo Min
Thein said ministries such as National Planning and Finance, as well as
the Central Bank, have a responsibility to manage funds properly and to
avoid projects with uncertain government payoffs.
Financial bodies need to manage
the salary increase program. If not,
commodity prices will rise the same
as it did in previous years and inflation will have increased, he said.
In the meantime we dont know
what their activities will be yet.
Although state salaries are set to
increase by about 40pc according to
current Ministry of Finance plans, a
Central Bank of Myanmar official said
he is not convinced the impact will be
as large as forecast by the Parliamentary Committee.
He said most experts such as the
International Monetary Fund are currently called for price growth of about
6pc in the coming fiscal year, not
8.1pc as forecast by the committee.
The government is also moving
Market sellers keep an eye on

rising prices.
Photo: Staff
to stem potential inflationary effects

from the salary increase.
Much of the funds are going to
pensions or other deferred benefits
such as purchasing apartments for
retired civil servants, he said.
Thats why the salary increase
will not unduly weaken purchasing
power or increase currency circulation, said the official.
Others say the salary increase is
only one of several factors that will
ultimately determine inflation.
Sean Turnell, a Myanmar-focused
economist at Australias Macquarie
University, said salary increases is
one of the reasons behind possible
increased inflation in the next fiscal
year. He also pointed to the depreciating kyat, which causes import
prices to rise, as well as demandside pressure in areas like real estate and certain consumer goods,
build-up from foreign investment,
and the salaries of foreign staff.
I think this inflation will cause some
drift away from bank deposits. This
will not please the banks, many of
which are anxious to increase their
funding in this way, he said.
So we might see some pressure
from them to lift the current interest
rate ceilings, he said. The move away

from deposits will likely not be that
great on this score, however, since
there are not many alternatives to
these as a financial asset, he added.
While the Central Bank will keep an
eye on inflation, it will probably not
do too much in terms of monetary
policy, he said. Mr Turnell added he
supported this stance, as the country
needs to encourage investment, and a
blanket tight monetary policy would
be a blunt approach that would probably do more harm than good. Further market liberalisation to encourage competition would be a better fix.
Bankers said they agreed that rising inflation makes bank deposits a
less-attractive place for cash.
CB Bank managing director U Pe
Myint said that while deposits may
decline due to high inflation, most
banks are not able to raise their deposit interest rates. The current floor
for savings accounts is about 8.25pc.
The margin is becoming narrower for
lending, he said. It will be impossible to offer increased rates, even if it
was allowed by the Central Bank, as
too much competition will mean not
much profit in the short or medium
term, he said.
Exchange Rates (March 3 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar
Buying
K1138
K307
K757
K31
K1037
Selling
K1156
K308
K764
K32
K1042
Investment tough for

local startup scene
Catherine Trautwein
IF they fail, how much do they owe
you?
The question came from the
crowd gathered at downtown innovation lab, Phandeeyar, in Yangon.
Max Fram-Schwartz, a principal
at Silicon Valley investment firm
and accelerator 500 Startups, had
explained his company injected
small amounts of capital generally
about US$100,000 into many different start-ups.
Now, a member of the audience
wanted to know what would happen if one of the funds bets went
belly-up.
If you fail and lose our money,
you dont owe us anything, he said.
We made an investment. A lot of
our companies fail. We dont go after them and try and get money.
While equity investment has become the new norm in ecosystems
like Silicon Valley, it is slow to grab
hold of Myanmar. Some founders
lack experience with the funding
process and investors struggle with
the start-up scene. For now, money
flows in from outside, with local investors more accustomed to backing hard assets than risky start-ups.
They do the big deals, said Guy
Eugene, managing partner at Myanmar Investment Group. Most
people I met the last two years, they
dont know that private equity, venture, exists.
Education can only do so much
to bridge the knowledge gap around
starting up businesses and fundraising and experience can be the
best teacher, according to some.
I cant remember exactly the
course that I took about investment, said Ma Soe Sandar Oo, who
graduated from the Yangon Institute of Economics with a Bachelor
of Commerce.
But what I can say is that subjects I took at school were not
enough to run a business outside.
To be a startup, you have to work
for a startup. Thats where you learn
the really hard skills about invest-
ment, raising funds, said Ko Min Zeya

Phyo, founder of Myanmar start-up
Code2Lab.
There is a lack of information in
the ecosystem around raising money,
according to Josephine Price, director at local investment firm Anthem
Asia.
The company compares the investment process to courtship: from dating
to getting engaged to getting married.
Theres not an understanding there,
Ms Price said. There havent been really any success stories, exits yet.
In a market without a stock exchange, options to earn investors returns are limited. A marked lack of
proof of concept can keep local investors at bay. And some still operate under old rules around investment that
dont apply to the start-up scene.
Local start-up CEO Ko Wai Yan
Lin said founders could not rely on
wealthy Myanmar individuals for
backing. The concept of investing in
start-ups is very risky and the local
people arent used to this culture and
they dont want to lose their money,
he continued.
Many of these funders have more
experience in industries such as real
estate rather than tech, where startups abound, according to Mr FramSchwartz and they require some
coaching to leave old habits behind.
How do you explain to a wealthy
individual who made money in real
estate how to think about investing in
start-ups? Right now they think, Its
the same risk as investing in real estate,
you have to give us 50 percent of your
company and were going to give you
no money, he said. Id focus less on
trying to drag investors here and more
on [how to] educate the investors that
may already be here.
Conditions in Myanmar remain
challenging around investment and
building a business. In a difficult climate, at least one firm has turned to
old standbys.
The issue is ... limited banking,
no capital market, limited education about business in general, no
business plan, Mr Eugene said. But
thats why were here. Back to basics
of private equity.
10 Business
Townships vie for last

six funding awards
Tin
yadanar
Htun
yadanar.mcm@gmail.com
A WORLD Bank program to improve development in one township in each of the 14 states and
regions, plus the caiptal will enter
the next phase, as six more States
and Regions have their townships
selected.
The US$86.3 million Community Driven Development Project
program finances the chosen
townships village tracts in three
annual block grants averaging
$27,000. About 640 village tracts
are to benefit.
Department of Rural Development deputy project director
U Khant Zaw said the winning
township from Mandalay and
Bago regions and Mon, Kayah,
Kachin and Kayin states will be
selected in March.
The selected township for
Kayah State will be Loikaw,
awarded on March 6, and other
township selections will follow,
MILLION US$
86.3
Total size of the program, which will

see the money spread across up to
640 village tracts
of public infrastructure they feel

will benefit the community.
U Khant Zaw said department
officials are being careful to invite representatives from NGOs,
civil society, community organisations and development partners
to participate in the meetings and
choose the appropriate townships
to build in.
The project was first carried

out with winners in Namhsan
township in Shan State, Kan Pet
Let township in Chin State and
Kyun Su township in Tanintharyi
Region.
The second phase of the project was carried out in Magwe,
Sagaing, Ayeyarwady, Rakhine,
Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw.
Chin State
Kanpetlet township
Shan State
Namhsan township
Mandalay
Rakhine State
Ann township
Ayeyarwady Region
Lemyethna township
Nay Pyi Taw
Yangon
Yangon Region
Htantabin township
said U Khant Zaw, deputy project

director at the Department of Rural Development and a member of
the project secretariat.
In the first year, communities
are confined to a closed menu
of investments, notably rehabilitation or extension of existing village assets such as schools, roads
and water.
In the later years, the communities are free to choose from an
open menu, meaning any type
Office prices steady

with supply coming
myat nyein aye
myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com
Chin State
Kanpetlet township
Magwe Region
Sidoktaya township
A boy sweeps a pathway

at a Yangon building site.
Photo: Kaung Htet
Region
Location Tanintharyi
Kyunsu township
of nine
townships
chosen so far
Nay Pyi Taw

Tatkon township
SEARCHING for office space is perhaps the most difficult part of Ma

Wint Yees job.
Working at a Japanese company,
she is constantly on the lookout for
cheaper, higher-quality office space
no easy task in the past.
With a surge in space coming
online, though, Ma Wint Yee said
the market is beginning to change.
It is finally getting a little easier, she said.
Office space has been perhaps
the tightest part of an already expensive property market, but is expected to loosen this year, according to experts.
The year 2014 may mark the
peak of excess demand compared to
supply, as more office space comes
online this year while growth in demand tapers off.
Over the last few years the rental market has been very expensive
for living or office space in Yangon,
said U Htun Htun, owner of Phoenix Real Estate.
Rental prices naturally followed
the markets growing demand.
Prices have already shown signs
of stablising, though have not yet
retreated after several years of
growth, he added.
Other market observers show
there are a number of large projects set to come online at the end
of 2015.
Property website House.com.
mm has estimates that 60,000
square metres of office space will
open this year. Colliers International meanwhile estimated that from
a base of 107,000 square metres

of usable space at the end of 2014,
with an annual increase of 70,000
square metres from 2015 to 2018 on
the cards.
House.com.mm country manager Jan Sommerfeld said there are
lots of new projects in the works in
Yangon.
Theres some real estate projects from local or foreign developers that will finish [this year]. More
space will emerge and this can
support demand for office space in
Yangon, he said.
Colliers also noted that some developers were falling behind on the
scheduled completed dates, meaning some forecasted space did not
materialise.
However, it pointed to a range
of sizeable projects under way,
with completions in the medium
to long term, including projects
by the Shangri-La Group, Shwe
Taung Group, Marga Landmark and
HAGL.
U Htun Htun said his buyers are
aware about the coming supply and
are content to sit on their hands.
The rental market is stronger than
the buying market, he added.
A number of developers announced projects in 2014, though
that space will not come online in
2017, meaning demand ought to
remain strong through 2015, he
added.
A zoning plan is in the works
which may limit future high rises
in Yangon. U Htun Htun said it is
likely that more heritage buildings
could be repurposed into office
space in the future, though this approach can be expensive.
CNOOC rig moves to

local offshore blocks
after South China Sea
THE deepwater drilling rig at the
centre of controversy in the South
China Sea in mid-2014 has begun
drilling in blocks near offshore Myanmar, according to its owners.
Chinas first deepwater drilling
rig HYSY981 has started the drilling of a deepwater exploration well
in Andaman Sea on February 7, said
a press release by China National
Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)
on March 2.
CNOOC has interests in several of Myanmars offshore energy
blocks, pre-dating the 2013 offshore
tenders that brought a number of
large foreign energy companies
into the domestic industry.
There are four existing gas platforms currently in production in
Myanmars offshore waters.
With water depth of 1721 metres
(5646 feet), the well is expected to
have over 5000 metres of depth,

said the release.
Operated by CNOOCs listed arm
China Oilfield Services Limited
(COSL), HYSY981 reached the target area on January 31.
Put into service in May 2012,
HYSY981 has made a large-scale
deepwater discovery Lingshui 17-2
gas field in South China Sea in September 2014.
In May 2014 the rig was moved
to near the Paracel islands, inside
overlapping claims of China and
Vietnam.
Vietnam contested the move,
saying it had violated its territorial
rights.
The South China Sea and Paracel islands have been an area of dispute between several ASEAN member states and China.
Jeremy Mullins and Xinhua
International Business 11
www.mmtimes.com
Jakarta
Biodiesel plans hit by crude oil slump

INDONESIAS goal of boosting use
of biodiesel made from palm oil by
more than doubling subsidies is
being threatened by the slump in
crude prices.
Consumption of subsidized palm
biodiesel may miss the 1.7 million
kilolitre (1.7 billion litres or 449 million gallons) target for 2015, according to Derom Bangun, chair of the
Indonesian Palm Oil Board.
The biggest producer of palm
oil would need 1.5 million metric
tonnes to meet that goal, he said.
That compares with 800,000 tonnes
used last year, Mandiri Sekuritas, a
broker in Jakarta, estimates.
The collapse of crude oil amid
a global surplus has led a decline
in fossil-fuel costs that has cut the
appeal of producing energy from
plants. Indonesias new government
led by Joko Widodo approved an increase in the biodiesel subsidy last
month, spurring analysts including
Mr Mandiri to forecast the change
would help to raise domestic palm
oil use at a time of expanding output and weaker demand from buyers such as China.
Its a hard time for biodiesel producers, Mr Bangun said in an interview at the Jakarta headquarters of
the group, which represents everyone in the industry from growers to
Sydney
Oz orders
Chinese to
sell Sydney
mansion
AUSTRALIA ordered Chinas Evergrande Real Estate Group to sell a
Sydney mansion worth A$39 million
(US$30 million), saying it was bought
illegally under foreign investment rules.
Cashed-up foreigners, many from
China, have been blamed for driving up
prices in Australian property markets,
particularly Sydney and Melbourne,
and placing home ownership out of
reach of many locals.
Last week the government said it
was cracking down to enforce rules under which foreigners are only allowed
to buy new dwellings and are barred
from purchasing existing homes. In the
first major case since then, Treasurer
Joe Hockey said he had made an order
under the Foreign Acquisitions and
Takeovers Act that Villa del Mare in
Sydneys exclusive Point Piper district
be disposed of within 90 days.
I made this order following advice
from the Australian government solicitor that the purchase breached the act,
he said, adding that if it is not sold the
matter may be referred for prosecution.
Mr Hockey said the luxury home
was bought in November 2014 for A$39
million by Golden Fast Foods. It is ultimately owned by Evergrande Real Estate Group, which is listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange. He added that
it was purchased via a string of shelf
companies including in Australia, Hong
Kong and the British Virgin Islands.
Under the Foreign Acquisitions and
Takeovers Act foreign investors must
notify the Treasurer through the Foreign Investment Review Board before
purchasing residential real estate, Mr
Hockey said. Golden Fast Foods is a
foreign-owned company which failed to
notify FIRB of its intended purchase.
The property is on Wolseley Road,
one of Australias most prestigious addresses with palatial homes boasting
spectacular harbour views. AFP
makers of cooking oil and chemicals.

While the increase in the subsidy
will add to the appeal of biodiesel,
demand will be sluggish because of
pressure from low crude prices, he
said.
Indonesia has promoted biofuel
usage to help absorb rising supplies of the worlds most-traded
edible oil, which is used in foods
and cosmetics, and to cut carbon
emissions. Biodiesel is blended with
regular diesel, produced from crude
oil, for use as a transportation and
industrial fuel.
The country in 2013 boosted the
mandated amount of blending in
diesel to 10 percent from 7.5pc, and
in 2014 ordered power plants to mix
20pc. The 1.7 million kilolitre target
represents 10pc of projected consumption of subsidised diesel, according to the energy ministry.
Total consumption of palm biodiesel may reach 2.2 million kiloliters this year if non-subsidized usage
is included, the Indonesia Biofuel
Producers Association estimates.
Biodiesel policies in Indonesia
will help determine the direction
of palm oil prices, which will climb
if they are implemented in full,
Godrej International director Dorab
Mistry said at a gathering held in
November.
Palm oil workers pose

in Malaysia. Photo:
Wikimedia Commons
Mr Mistry is due to speak at a

palm and lauric oils conference in
Kuala Lumpur on March 4.
Biodiesel is uneconomical at the
moment, said Togar Sitanggang,
secretary general of the Biofuel
Producers Association. Demand for

subsidized palm biodiesel may be as
low as 1 million kilolitres this year
unless the government comes up
with a new formula to set the prices
used in buying tenders by the state
oil company, PT Pertamina, he said.

The subsidy increase should
make the B10 mandate feasible and
boost palm oil demand by 900,000
tonnes this year, Hariyanto Wijaya,
an analyst at Mandiri Sekuritas, a
unit of Indonesias biggest bank by
assets, said in a report on February
5. Indonesia may produce 31 million
tonnes of palm oil this year, up from
29.5 million tonnes in 2014, according to estimates from Mr Bangun.
We will see just how far the government is committed in enforcing
the B10 mandate, Mr Sitanggang
said in a phone interview on February 24. Everyone is waiting for the
new price index to be immediately
imposed in March.
The new formula will be based
on the price of crude palm oil plus
biofuel production costs, Dadan
Kusdiana, bioenergy director at the
energy ministry, said on February
10.
The government previously used
the Mean of Platts Singapore, or
MOPS, diesel price, plus 3.48pc as a
reference in tenders, he said.
It will be hard to meet the 1.7
million kilolire target with the low
price of crude oil, Mr Bangun said.
The government may face problems delivering it.
Bloomberg
12 International Business
New Delhi
Analysis
Macau
No luck
for island
gambling
Modi moves to fix finances

WITH the strongest election mandate in 30 years and oil prices sliding,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a
chance to quickly get Indias finances
under control in his first full-year
budget.
On February 28, several weeks
after his party got crushed in a local
Delhi election, Mr Modi chose a more
incremental route with a wider deficit
projection to boost growth in Asias
third-biggest economy. Hes spending
more on infrastructure to spur an investment cycle, buying time for longer-term moves on taxes and subsidies
to make India more competitive.
Indias financial health now hinges
on Mr Modis ability to kickstart projects, better target subsidies, increase
asset sales and pass stalled legislation
objectives that in the past have fallen short of plans. Since taking office
hes failed to win parliamentary approval for a bill to increase foreign investment in insurance, raising doubts
about how much he can accomplish.
It will disappoint people at one extreme but generally it was okay, Hugh
Young, the Singapore-based Asia managing director at Aberdeen Asset Management, said of the budget. People
were expecting a huge, huge, big-bang
raft of measures. Its been more along
the pattern of what weve come to expect, a series of gentle measures.
Investors had mixed reactions,
with the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex
changing direction at least 12 times after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley concluded the almost 90-minute budget
speech on February 28 while the bond
and currency markets were shut.

The highlight was a fiscal deficit
target of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product wider than the 3.6pc
he committed to earlier, while down
from 4.1pc the previous year. Other
key steps included a corporate tax cut,
more money for roads, bridges and
power plants, and increased allocation for rural jobs.
While the slide in oil prices since
mid-2014 had given the government
space to scrap diesel-price controls
and increase tariffs on local natural
gas, the administration in its budget
didnt follow up with bolder steps to
wind down fertilizer, cooking gas and
liquid petroleum gas subsidies.
The missed opportunity leaves the
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Photo: AFP
fiscal deficit vulnerable should oil rebound, after a tumble in crude in excess of 40pc since June.
India is in a sweet spot currently,
but what happens when that window
closes? Tushar Poddar, a Mumbaibased economist at Goldman Sachs
Group, wrote in a note on the budget.
Also missing was any detailed
timeline for pressing ahead with
the enactment of a national sales
tax disappointing, according to
Deutsche Bank economists Taimur
Baig and Kaushik Das.
Meantime, a record shift in funds
to Indias 29 state governments also
leaves less cash for Mr Modis federal
government. The combined federal
and state government deficit is about
6pc of GDP, about twice the average in
Asia, according to Goldman estimates.
The budget underscores our view
that government finances are likely to
remain a constraint on Indias sovereign credit profile, said Atsi Sheth,
the senior vice president for sovereign
risk at Moodys Investors Service. Fiscal consolidation appears difficult to
achieve even by a government with a
considerable parliamentary majority
and during a period of accelerating
economic growth.
Indias economy is forecast to expand as much as 8.5pc in the next
fiscal year, the fastest pace among the
worlds biggest emerging markets.
The finance ministry has cautioned,
however, that those figures are based
on a revised method for calculating
gross domestic product, and that the
economy is still recovering after a
slowdown in manufacturing in recent

years. Despite the higher fiscal deficit
target, Mr Modi appears to have done
enough to allow central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan to continue reducing the benchmark interest rate.
Mr Rajan had said he was looking for
high-quality fiscal consolidation in
addition to softer inflation before he
lowers the rate again.
Its very clear that there have
been very limited populist measures
announced and the focus is largely
on the capital spending side, said
Upasna Bhardwaj, an economist at
ING Vysya Bank Ltd. That bit is
something which the RBI should focus on and that should continue the
monetary policy easing cycle.
Softer inflation and a lower current-account deficit provided the
government room to slow down fiscal
consolidation and step up public investment, said Arvind Subramanian,
the governments chief economic adviser. Still, investors have reason to
be cautious. Opposition parties that
control parliaments upper house have
vowed to block Mr Modis executive
orders to ease land purchases, boost
foreign investment in insurance and
allow commercial coal mining. That
does not bode well for approval of a
national goods and services tax that
Mr Modi wants to implement in 2016.
If oil goes back up, inflationary
pressures go back up, Mr Aziz said.
Global conditions are weaker and
easier than they were in 2014, and
youre skipping the opportunity.
Bloomberg
MACAU casino revenue plunged a

record 49 percent year-on-year in
February as gaming takings free-fall
due to Chinas corruption crackdown,
figures showed yesterday.
It was the ninth straight month
of decline as Beijing encourages the
semi-autonomous territory to diversify away from gambling and reins in
high rollers from the mainland.
February revenue fell to 19.54 billion patacas (US$2.45 billion), compared with 38.01 billion patacas for
the same period last year, according
to figures from the former Portuguese
colonys Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The previous highest year-on-year
drop was 30.4 percent in December,
and an overall fall of 2.6pc in 2014
was the first annual decline since figures were first released in 2002.
With all the current policies from
China and the changing sentiment
in Macau, we were not expecting the
main driver for revenue to improve,
said Simsen International Financial
Group associate director Jackson
Wong.
A lot of people have lost faith
in the sector and thats why it has
plunged.
But despite the drop, the figure was
slightly better than expected, said Mr
Wong, and prompted Macau casino
stocks listed in Hong Kong to rise.
Eight analysts polled by Bloomberg
News had given a median estimate of
a 53.5pc decline ahead of the results.
Analysts had also trimmed their
estimates for the month after fewer
Chinese gamblers travelled to the
city during the Chinese New Year period, usually one of the years busiest,
Bloomberg reported.
Mr Wong said revenue may now
stabilise at current levels, or actually
might improve going forward.
Thats why the stocks acted a little positively, he added.
Shares in gambling giants Sands
China and Wynn Macau were up almost 3pc on the Hong Kong stock exchange after the result, while casino
operator SJM was up nearly 1pc.
SJM Holdings reported last
Wednesday a slump of 13pc in 2014
net profit.
The casino revenue slowdown has
mostly been attributed to a high-profile corruption crackdown spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
AFP
International Business 13
www.mmtimes.com
IN BRIEF
Athens to speed up reform
Greece will speed up its reform proposals to its international creditors to

unlock vital loans, its finance minister
said yesterday.
[On March 9] I will submit a folder
of six proposals and discuss with our
peers which ones can be implemented
immediately, Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis told Star TV in an interview.
Greeces new radical government
has until April to present reform proposals to its EU-IMF creditors in order
to win approval for its plans for a fouryear economic recovery blueprint.
Until an agreement is reached, Athens has no access to funds remaining
in its 240 billion euro (US$272 billion)
EU-IMF bailout. AFP
Japan central bank should avoid

faster bond buys, says experts
A faster pace of Japanese government
bond purchases by the Bank of Japan
would risk further distortions in the
worlds second-biggest sovereign debt
market, says the vice chair of the Japan
Research Institute.
If additional easing is done using
government bonds, it may have the
considerable side-effect of impairing
the functioning of the market, said
Yuri Okina, an economist and a former
BOJ official. It will probably be difficult
for the BOJ to boost the pace that it
buys government bonds.
The BOJ accumulates government
bonds at an annual pace of about 80
trillion yen (US$667 billion) under an
unprecedented program. Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank chief to face trial
Deutsche Bank co-chief Juergen

Fitschen will face trial in April on
allegations he gave false evidence in
a long-running legal battle with the
defunct Kirch group, the court said on
March 2.
Mr Fitschen and four others exCEOs Rolf Breuer and Josef Ackermann and former executives Clemens
Boersig and Tessen von Heydebreck
were all indicted last September and
charged with the alleged attempted
deception in the long-running case.
All five have denied any wrongdoing.
The higher regional court in Munich
said in a statement on March 2 that
the trial would begin on April 28, with a
total 13 hearings set aside lasting until
at least August. Bloomberg
US farmer delegation visits Cuba
An American food and farm industries

delegation visited Cuba on March 2,
sizing up the potential for doing bigger business with the Americas only
communist-run nation.
US President Barack Obama and
President Raul Castro took the world
by surprise in December when they announced their decision to seek closer
relations and end more than half a
century of enmity.
But US economic sanctions on
Havana largely have to be lifted by the
US Congress before normal business
can take place.
Cuba buys food from US companies,
but economically feeble Havana only is
allowed to do so in cash, which makes
expanding US business tougher. AFP
Spanish developer goes bust
Spanish property developer Martinsa

Fadesa said on March 2 it would file
for liquidation bankruptcy in one of the
countrys biggest insolvencies, which
comes as the sector shows signs of recovery from a 2008 real estate collapse.
The company, a symbol of the excesses
that led to the countrys property sector
collapse, said in a regulatory filing that
its board had decided on the move after
failing to win support from banks for its
latest debt repayment plan.
Martinsa Fadesa, a builder of
homes, malls and golf courses which
is active mainly in Europe, said February 26 it holds assets worth 2.4 billion
euros (US$2.7 billion) to meet debts
worth 7.0 billion euros, making its collapse one of the biggest bankruptcies
in Spanish history.
AFP
New York
US banks batten down hatches

FACED with increased regulation
beginning in 2017, the major US
banks are taking a number of restructuring steps, shedding staff
and some speculative businesses,
and cutting bonuses.
Taking a machete to expenses,
banks are speeding up disinvestments, trimming administrative
budgets and turning to automation to replace employees in a
broad array of banking operations, including online.
The largest US bank in terms of
assets, JPMorgan Chase, plans to
save nearly US$5 billion by 2017,
and is closing 300 bank branches.
In 2014, Goldman Sachs pay
fell to the lowest level since the
prestigious Wall Street investment
bank went public in 1999.
To meet regulators demands,
the banking industry is also jettisoning lucrative assets and is trying to shrink certain deposits by
charging institutional clients a fee
to hold them, a move JPMorgan
announced last week.
Goldman Sachs is scaling back
holdings in investment funds and
private-equity firms, said a Goldman spokesperson.
Morgan Stanley is lowering its
profile in commodity and foreignexchange trading and has put its
oil trading unit on the market,
preferring to focus on wealth

management, a business with fewer risks.
Regulators have toughened
their standards in a bid to avoid
a repetition of the 2008 financial
crisis that forced the US and other
governments to bail out banks.
In their cross-hairs are the famous too big to fail financial institutions, considered a risk to the
financial system.
The Basel III global regulations
require banks to reinforce their
own capital buffers, both in quality and in quantity, to represent
a minimum 7.0 percent of their
assets at all times. That formula
means, for example, that for every
$100 lent, $7 is the banks own
money.
Both the US central bank, the
Federal Reserve, and the Financial
Stability Board would like a bigger
buttress.
The FSB is seeking to require
major global banks that are considered systemically important to
hold a minimum capital cushion
of 16-20pc of their risk-weighted
assets, or Total Loss Absorbency
Capacity.
As for the Fed, it wants eight
major US banks to be subject to a
risk-based capital surcharge. Under the proposal, the central bank
could prevent the banks from paying out dividends or repurchasing

shares if the failed to comply.
We want to pay our shareholders. We want to pay dividends,
buybacks in a balanced way, said
JPMorgan spokesperson Brian
Marchiony.
Is this really going

to end the too big
to fail? I dont
think so.
Chris Whalen
Kroll Bond Rating Agency
Bank of America, in its 2014

annual report, said, We continue
to wind down our global principal
investments operations.
Under the so-called Volcker
rule in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
reform law, US banks are barred
from proprietary trading, or trading with their own funds. The aim
is to prevent the kind of excessive
speculative behavior that threatens their stability, such as the
London Whale trading debacle
in 2012 that cost JPMorgan about

$6 billion in losses.
Is this really going to end the
too big to fail? I dont think so,
said former banker Chris Whalen,
of Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The
reality is that too big to fail is
about the payment system, its not
about capital.
Richard Bove, an analyst at
Rafferty Capital Markets, said that
in wanting to overly constrain the
major banks the regulators have
given them a competitive edge
over medium-sized and small
banks.
The big banks have excess
profits and they can use those excess profits to pay for the regulation, Mr Bove said.
The New York state financial
regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, himself acknowledged the competitive
advantage favoring large banks in
certain activities.
Mr Lawsky, speaking at Columbia University in late February, recalled that a boss of a mid-sized
bank had told him about the difficulties in facing this regulatory
ramp-up, which was monopolising
significant human resources at
the expense of the banks normal
activities.
We must adjust. We should listen, Mr Lawsky said. AFP
14 News
World
World editor: Fiona MacGregor
Mindanao
Bounty put on coddled bombmaker

THE Philippine military is trying to
capture a bombmaker it believes is
being coddled by militants who
have pledged loyalty to Islamic State,
authorities said on March 1.
The capture of Abdel Basit Usman
is one of the objectives of a major
army offensive on the southern island of Mindanao, said local military
commander Major General Edmundo
Pangilinan.
The US government has Mr Usman
on its most-wanted list with a milliondollar bounty on his head. Washington
and Manila say he has links to Jemaah
Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf, two groups
of Southeast Asian militants.
Mr Pangilinan said the military
believes Mr Usman is being sheltered
by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF), which has vowed support to the Islamic State jihadists.
Basit Usman is still believed to be
in the area. We believe the BIFF, this
armed, lawless group, are the ones
coddling and protecting him. We are

still pursuing him, he said.
Field reports indicated that three
[Filipino Muslim] lieutenants of Basit
Usman were killed in the assault, a
military statement said.
More troops were sent in to scour
the hiding places of Usman, it added.
Military officials declined to specify
how many soldiers were involved.
More than 10,000 residents have
fled since the fighting began last
week between the army and the
BIFF on Mindanao, a government
spokesperson said, adding that Manila
was providing aid.
Mr Pangilinan said the military
was also confirming reports of four
Indonesians and an Arab who may be
with Usman and the BIFF.
Airstrikes and artillery fire were
delivered after information of the location of the targets were identified, a
military statement said, without specifying if anyone was hit.
Mr Usman was one of the targets of

a botched police commando operation
in the same area on January 25.
Over 40 commandoes were killed
in the raid, triggering a wave of outrage which has shaken the administration of President Benigno Aquino.
Mr Usman was not captured. But
initial DNA tests from another body
indicated the raid may have succeeded in killing another target, Zulkifli
bin Hir.
The FBI, which has offered a US$5
million reward for Mr Zulkifli, describes him as a leading member of
the Jemaah Islamiyah, which staged
the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.
BIFF is a group of a few hundred
gunmen, who broke away from the
much larger Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, which is engaged in peace talks.
BIFF rejects the peace process and
seeks an independent Islamic state
in the south of the largely Catholic
nation. AFP
IN PICTUREs
Thousands of couples took part in

headquarters of the Unification
messiah and church founder Sun
Photo: AFP
MAGUINDANAO, PHILIPPINES : In this photo taken February 28, 2015, government forces of the 6th Infantry Division fire
a105 Howitzer canon in Maguindanao, Southern Philippines. Photo: AFP
PERTH
One year on,

no sign of
MH370
THE hunt for missing plane MH370
has yet to turn up any signs of the
jet, the head of the Australian agency
leading the search has announced, as
the one-year anniversary of the flights
disappearance approaches.
On March 8, 2014, the flight carrying 239 people en route from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing vanished and is
believed to have gone down in one of
the deepest and most remote areas of
ocean far off the Western Australia
coast.
Chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)
Martin Dolan said that while several
manmade items mostly shipping
containers have been detected during sonar search, they had found nothing resembling debris from the jet.
The sorts of things were tending
to pick up are shipping containers,
Mr Dolan said.
The search is jointly funded by
Australia and Malaysia, with some
A$120 million (US$93 million)
pledged so far.
AFP
bangkok
Baring alms: Thai

temple in embezz
THE Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) says it will examine
property north of Bangkok at the
Dhammakaya temple premises for
suspected links to the 12 billion
baht Klongchan Credit Union embezzlement scandal.
It is also seeking to freeze the
assets of those who received money allegedly embezzled from the
co-operative.
AMLO secretary-general Police
Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat revealed on March 2 that the decision had been made following a
meeting on February 23 with the
National Reform Council committee on religious affairs, led by Paiboon Nititawan.
The AMLO secretary-general
said the office is ready to act on
the committees recommendation that it pursues civil lawsuits
against and freezes the assets of
those suspected of receiving embezzled money.
The Pathum Thani Province
temple and its abbot allegedly received more than 900 million baht
(US$27.8 million) in donations
from Supachai Srisupaaksorn, the
former chairman of the Klongchan

Credit Union Co-operative, who
stands accused of embezzling 12
billion baht ($371 million).
Police Colonel Sihanart said
AMLO found eight cheques totalling 348.78 million baht had
been paid into abbott Phra Dhammachayos bank accounts.
BILLION
12
The amount of baht believed to have

been embezzled in the Klongchan
Credit Union scandal
Six more cheques totalling 436

million baht were also made out
to the Dhammakaya temple, and
another 119.02 million baht to
Phra Palat Wichan, Phra Dhammachayos assistant.
News 15
www.mmtimes.com
Mourners bid farewell
to slain Russian
opposition leader
Netanyahu heads to
Washington for next
round of talks
world 18
World 19
WASHINGTON
Raise in store for teachers: Hun Sen

CAMBODIAS lowest-paid teachers
will receive a US$25 increase to their
base monthly salary by the end of May,
the government has revealed.
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the raise on March 2 and reiterated his pledge to establish a base
teacher salary of $250 by 2018.
The salary system has never been
organised since our teachers received
rice [as salary], but it will happen
soon, and teachers salaries will increase to at least 650,000 riel [$162]
and our goal is at least 1 million riel
[$250] for the lowest grade teachers, Hun Sen said. We will increase
it step by step. We cannot fly like a
helicopter.
Education Minister Hang Chuon
Naron confirmed after the premiers
speech that the initial raise from $137
to $162 would come into effect by the
end of May, adding that the salary hike
would benefit some 50,000 mainly
primary school teachers. There are
110,000 teachers in the country.
This is a policy that the prime
minister announced to balance between investing in hard infrastructure
and soft infrastructure, including human resources. The increase in salary
would be the priority, and at the same

time, we have to balance with the
infrastructure development, Chuon
Naron said.
The ruling Cambodian Peoples
Party have made improving the education system a key pillar of their reform
agenda aimed at wooing back the
voters that deserted them in droves at
the 2013 election.
But the party has repeatedly come
under fire for attempting to outlaw
We will increase
it step by step, we
cannot fly like a
helicopter.
Hun Sen
Prime minister of Cambodia
corrupt practices among teachers

without addressing the underlying
problem their unsustainably low
wages.
Opposition Cambodia National

Rescue Party lawmaker Yim Sovann
said teachers needed the raise to $250
because of soaring living expenses.
The more the better. We support
the policy, because the cost of living is
going up every day and the civil servants cannot afford the cost of life. But
$162 is not enough, he said.
In 2013, the CNRP placed significant salary increases for civil servants
and armed forces at the centre of their
election campaign.
Rong Chhun, president of the the
Cambodian Independent Teachers
Association, said he was very happy
to hear the prime ministers pledge,
but also stressed the amount would
not cover basic living costs in light of
inflation.
I think the government has had
the capacity to increase teachers salaries [for some time], but I dont know
why they just made it [the increase]
now, he said.
Hun Sen also announced that
the country was still aiming to
meet a 84.4 percent adult literacy target by the end of the year.
The rate stood at 79.7pc in 2013.
The Phnom Penh Post
sydney
Private school failed to act on abuse

allegations, Commission hears
a mass wedding on March 2 at the South Korean
Church the third such event since the death of their
Myung Moon.
ai authorities eye
zzlement scandal
The monk also is alleged to
have received stolen cash in the
form of donations.
The AMLO will investigate
whether the construction of buildings on the temples premises was
funded by the donations, Pol Col
Sihanart said.
The probe will take some time
because the temples compound
covers vast areas, he said.
The Klongchan co-operative is
pursuing a civil lawsuit against
Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Phra
Dhammachayo and his assistant,
Phra Palat Wichan.
It wants them to return 933
million baht allegedly embezzled
from the co-operative by Mr Supachai and his accomplices.
On March 2, activist monk Phra
Buddha Isra filed complaints with
the Crime Suppresson Division
accusing Phra Dhammachayo of
defrauding people and posing as a
monk in violation of the Criminal
Code.
Phra Buddha Isra cited a letter written in 1999 by the late supreme patriarch to the Supreme
Sangha Council which suggested
the former abbot be defrocked

for violating the Buddhist monks
code of conduct.
The letter said the monk had
refused to transfer assets to Wat
Phra Dhammakaya, among them
1500 rai (2.4 square kilometres) of
land donated by his followers.
The late supreme patriarchs
letter caught prosecutors attention and Phra Dhammachayo later
agreed to turn over the land and
assets in 2006. Prosecutors withdrew lawsuits against him in 2006.
Kosolwat Inthuchanyong, deputy spokesperson of the Office of
the Attorney-General (OAG), said
he will ask Attorney-General Trakul Winitnaiyaphak for permission to examine the decision to
abandon lawsuits against Phra
Dhammachayo nine years ago.
The decision to abandon the
case was authorised in 2006 by
then attorney-general Pachara
Yutithamdamrong.
OAG spokesperson Kosolwat
Inthuchanyong vowed to explain
details of the decision and on what
grounds Mr Pachara justified it.
Bangkok Post
A FORMER headmaster at one of

Australias most prestigious private
schools apologised on March 3 after
revelations that boys were groomed
for sex by paedophile teachers while
he was in charge.
Knox Grammar in Sydney, whose
ex-pupils include the late former
prime minister Gough Whitlam and
Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, has
been the focus in recent days of a
national enquiry into institutional
responses to child abuse.
The royal commission has heard
claims of abuse at Knox which allegedly happened between the 1970s
and 2012, with one ex-student saying
the school harboured a large paedophile cohort.
Ian Paterson was the principal for
30 years until 1998 and it is alleged
that he failed to tell police about incidents of abuse and provided references for teachers later charged with
sex offences.
In a witness statement to the
commission, Mr Paterson admitted
he made mistakes and said he was
sorry for the pain inflicted on boys
under his care at the day and boarding school.
I should have known and I
should have stopped the events that
led to the abuse and its tragic consequences for these boys in my care
and their families, he said.
My abject failure to provide for
you a safe and secure place at Knox
strikes at the very heart of a responsibility of a headmaster.
I commend your courage in coming forward, he added, referring to
pupils who said they were abused.
Knowing that I was your headmaster when much of this abuse occurred is devastating.
Mr Paterson has not been implicated in the abuse of boys under
investigation, but the commission
heard evidence on March 2 that he
had inappropriately touched a girl
on stage during rehearsals for a musical with another school in 1989.

His statement came before he
is due to give evidence about his
knowledge and management of
teachers accused of abusing children
while he was in charge.
Australia opened the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses
to Child Sexual Abuse in April 2013,

after more than a decade of pressure
to investigate claims of paedophilia
in religious organisations, schools
and state care.
In September last year, it was extended by a further two years to deal
with the thousands of victims who
have come forward. AFP
16 World
IN PICTUREs
Photo: AFP
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) look on after collecting foodstuffs during a distribution event run by the American University
of Nigeria through the Adamawa Peace Initiative at the Upper Room Cathedral to the Holy Spirit in Yola, Nigeria on March 1, 2015.
Hundreds of thousands of IDPs have come to Yola to flee Boko Haram, mainly staying with relatives and other local residents, which
makes them ineligible for aid through the major INGOs.
WASHINGTON
ISIS donations
dwindle: US
spy chief
DONATIONS to Islamic State jihadists have dramatically declined in

the wake of brutal executions by the
group that have shocked public opinion in the Middle East, the chief of US
intelligence said on March 2.
I think there is change afoot in the
Mideast, said James Clapper, director
of national intelligence, referring to perceptions of the IS group in the region.
Its not going to occur overnight.
But I think these brutalities, publicised brutalities by ISIL [IS], beheadings, immolation and the like, have
really had a galvanising effect even in
the Mideast, Mr Clapper said at an
event in New York organized by the
Council on Foreign Relations.
As a result, donations to the extremists in Islamic countries were
dropping off, according to Mr Clapper.
Theres been a big decline, he
said.
But he added that private donations accounted for less than 1 percent of the groups income, with most
of its revenue coming from bank robberies, extortion and oil smuggling in
areas under IS control.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Sunniled states have long been accused of
allowing donations to flow to Islamist

extremists in Syria, but those countries have denied the allegations.
US Vice President Joe Biden had to
issue an apology to UAE, Turkey and
Saudi Arabia last year after he suggested that their governments sent
money and weapons to Sunni militants fighting the Syrian regime.
Mr Clapper also said the IS group
was adept at propaganda and that a
counter-narrative was needed to
defeat the jihadists. The US spy chief
expressed concern about IS militants
recruiting fighters from among the
huge numbers of refugees who have
fled the conflict in Syria.
Millions of refugees have put
a huge strain on neighboring
countries.
The pool of refugees creates an environment for recruiting volunteers
for the IS, he said.
Thats a great concern that I have.
His comments came after the United Nations last week warned Syrias
refugee crisis was approaching a dangerous turning point.
Close to 12 million people have
been displaced by the four-year war in
Syria, including 3.8 million who have
fled to neighboring states. AFP
18 World
MOSCOW
TOKYO
Ukraine
FM voices
doubts on
peace deal
UKRAINIAN Foreign Minister Pavlo
Klimkin expressed doubt on hopes that
a UN-backed truce with pro-Russian
rebels will stick, as he called for an expansion of international monitoring.
The situation on the ground is
very difficult and tense despite a declared ceasefire. We still have many
shells thrown by terrorists in eastern
Ukraine, Mr Klimkin told reporters in
Tokyo on March 3.
There was always a problem of lack
of trust in relations between Ukraine
and Russia ... We cant rely on any
kinds of agreements between us and
Russians.
And exactly because of that we
need [a] consistent position of the
whole international community for defending Ukraine peace and Ukrainian
territorial sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
Mr Klimkin who is in Japan
for meetings with Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe and his counterpart Fumio
Kishida made the comments a day
after the US and Russian foreign ministers John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov
expressed cautious optimism following
talks in Geneva.
Dina Eidman (left), 87, the mother of murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and Nemtsovs widow Ekaterina Odintsova (right) attend a farewell
ceremony in Moscow on March 3, 2015. Photo: AFP
Mourners bid farewell to slain

Russian opposition leader
MOURNERS for slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov prepared to gather for his funeral in
Moscow yesterday, as Polish and
Latvian officials said they had been
barred from entering Russia on the
eve of the ceremony in retaliation
for EU sanctions over Ukraine.
The funeral for Mr Nemtsov, a
55-year-old former deputy prime
minister, longtime Vladimir Putin
critic and anti-corruption crusader
who was shot dead in central Moscow four days ago, will be held in
the Russian capitals Troekurovskoye cemetery.
His body was to lie in state
starting at 10am local time at the
Andrei Sakharov rights centre, the
RIA-Novosti news agency quoted
Mr Nemtsovs colleague Konstantin
Merzlikin as saying.
Senior officials from Poland and
Latvia who sought to attend the funeral said on March 2 that they had
been denied entry into Russia.
Polish Senate speaker Bogdan
Borusewicz was refused entry by
Moscow in reprisal for EU sanctions against Russias upper house
of parliament speaker Valentina
Matviyenko, the Polish foreign
ministry said.
Latvian MEP Sandra Kalniete
said she had also been refused
entry into Russia at Moscows
Sheremetyevo airport, but was not
given a reasonable explanation for
the ban.
Since I have always taken a
clear and explicit language on
Russias role in Ukraine, I had
suspicions that it could happen,

she said.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister
Konrad Pawlik will attend the funeral, according to Polish media,
while Lithuanian Foreign Minister
Linas Linkevicius will also be present, his spokesperson said.
Mr Nemtsov was gunned down
shortly before midnight on February 27 while walking across a
bridge just a short distance from
the Kremlin with his Ukrainian
model girlfriend Ganna Duritska.
Mr Putin, whose rule has seen
the steady suppression of independent media, non-Kremlin controlled political parties and opposition-minded business figures,
called the murder a contract killing and said it was a provocation.
Soon after the killing, Mr Putin
promised an all-out effort to catch
the perpetrators.
The 23-year-old Ms Duritska
the chief witness in the murder
arrived in Kiev, her lawyer confirmed, as authorities vowed to
solve the most shocking political
assassination to take place during
Mr Putins rule.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
pledged that the heinous crime
would be fully investigated.
A reward of 3 million rubles
(US$48,000) was offered for
information on Mr Nemtsovs
death, a substantial amount in
Moscow, where the average monthly salary is 60,000 rubles ($960).
Ms Duritska said she had given
all the information she could to
investigators but that they were

preventing her from leaving Russia, citing concerns for her security.
Ms Duritskas mother Inna
Duritska, who lives in Kiev, told
AFP prior to her daughters departure from Russia that she feared
her de facto house arrest meant
investigators might be preparing to
make her a pawn in the deepening
Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Moscow and Kiev have been
foes since the ouster last year of
Kremlin-backed president Viktor
Yanukovych and Russias seizure
of the Ukrainian Crimea province.
Ukraines current pro-Western government has also been battling a
pro-Russian insurgency in the east
since April.
Friends of Mr Nemtsov said he
had been working on a report containing what he described as proof of
secret Russian military involvement
in the bloody uprising by pro-Moscow militias in eastern Ukraine.
He had also spoken of his fear
of being killed in Russia, where a
string of other prominent opposition figures have been murdered
since Mr Putin came to power 15
years ago.
But there was no imminent sign
of danger when he was fatally shot
in the back, Ms Duritska who was
uninjured in the apparently wellplanned shooting said earlier.
Speaking via a fuzzy Skype connection from a Moscow apartment,
Ms Duritska said she did not see
where the assassin came from. But
she did notice a light-coloured car
quickly drive off, she said.

She was immediately taken
in for questioning which lasted
through the night.
Shocked opposition figures in
Russia and Western leaders have
called for a full and transparent
probe into the murder of Mr Nemtsov, who served as Boris Yeltsins
first deputy prime minister in the
1990s.
On March 1, tens of thousands
of people joined a memorial march
in Moscow, numbers not seen at an
opposition-linked event since mass
anti-Putin rallies in 2011 and 2012.
The Investigative Committee
leading the probe has offered several possible motives, including
that the countrys opposition could
itself have ordered the hit on Mr
Nemtsov as a sacrifice.
The murder took place in one
of the most heavily policed areas
of Moscow. However, some Russian
media reports suggested that lowlevel criminals, not professional
hit men, may have carried out the
killing.
Participants in the investigation are only sure of one thing
that the killers were not professionals, said Kommersant newspaper.
The broadsheet said they used
ammunition that was years old and
possibly an unreliable home-made
weapon.
The murderer or murderers
fired four bullets into Mr Nemtsovs
back and several more were found
at the scene. AFP
There was always

a problem of lack
of trust in relations
between Ukraine
and Russia... we
cant rely on any
kinds of agreements
between us and
Russians.
Pavlo Klimkin
Ukraine Foreign Minister
Their meeting was part of efforts to

end the fighting in Ukraine, where the
UN says more than 6000 people have
died in less than a year.
Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov both said a
February 15 ceasefire was on the right
track, despite repeated breaches.
Ukraines army said on March 2
that one soldier had been killed but the
ceasefire was still broadly holding.
Both sides have begun to pull back
some heavy weaponry from the frontline, but monitors say it is too early to
confirm a full scaling-down.
What we need is, of course, at least
a minor confidence and it could be provided by stopping any kind of shelling
... and clear monitoring and verification
by the OSCE monitoring mission, Mr
Klimkin said.
Weve been working on an additional stabilisation component it
could be a UN mission, it could be a EU
mission or (both) of them.
Mr Klimkin is meeting Mr Abe and
Mr Kishida to discuss a range of issues
including Tokyos support for Kiev and
strengthening economic ties.
Mr Abe has held multiple summits with Russian President Vladimir
Putin since coming to office in late
2012, pushing to expand business ties
and resolve a dispute over the ownership of islands seized by Soviet troops
in the closing days of World War II.
The crisis in Ukraine has complicated those efforts, and Tokyo has followed its allies in Europe and the US
by imposing sanctions and pressure on
Moscow. AFP
World 19
www.mmtimes.com
WASHINGTON
Netanyahu
heads to DC for
talks on Iran
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu is set to make another visit
to Capitol Hill today for the second
round in an increasingly heated battle with the White House over Irans
nuclear ambitions.
In a landmark speech to Congress,
Mr Netanyahu will seek to mobilise
lawmakers to oppose an emerging
deal with Tehran which is backed by
President Barack Obama.
President Obama lashed out on
March 2, pointing to Mr Netanyahus
attacks on a previous interim US-Iran
deal that paved the way for this weeks
ongoing talks in Switzerland.
Netanyahu made all sorts of
claims, he told Reuters.
This was going to be a terrible deal,
he went on. This was going to result in
Iran getting $50 billion worth of relief,
Iran would not abide by the agreement.
None of that has come true.
Mr Netanyahu aides say that in his
address he will present information
proving that the shape of the deal being discussed in Switzerland this week
presents grave danger.
State Department spokesperson
Marie Harf warned on March 2 that
if the details came from US briefings
to Israel, revealing them could mean
there would be no more.
Weve continuously provided detailed classified briefings to Israeli
officials to keep them updated and to
provide context, she said.
Any release of any kind of information like that would, of course, betray that trust.
We want to keep talking in these
settings, of course, but that would be

a problem.
Mr Netanyahu believes that in
the talks with Iran the so-called P5+1
group is verging on striking a deal that
will ease international sanctions without the ironclad safeguards the Jewish
state says are essential to deny Tehran
a nuclear bomb.
The US administration says that is
just not true.
This president has made clear
that hes not going to sign a bad deal,
said White House spokesman Josh
Earnest.
Samantha Power, Washingtons
ambassador to the United Nations,
weighed into the fight on March 2
when she addressed 16,000 pro-Israel
activists in the US capital.
The United States of America will
not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear
weapon, period, she said. Taking the
podium shortly after Ms Power, Mr
Netanyahu remained unswerving in
his opposition to Mr Obamas policy.
The purpose of my address to
Congress tomorrow is to speak up
about a potential deal with Iran that
could threaten the survival of Israel,
he said.
My speech is not intended to show
any disrespect to President Obama,
he told the lobby group AIPACs annual conference.
Israel and the United States agree
that Iran shouldnt have nuclear
weapons. But we disagree on the best
way to prevent them from developing
those weapons.
The row is not only about the core
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy
conference in Washington, DC, on March 2, 2015. Netanyahu is ramping up his mission to foil an emerging White Housebacked nuclear deal with Iran with the speech to the powerful pro-Israel AIPAC lobby. Photo: AFP
issues but also about the way Mr Netanyahu and US Republicans are waging the battle.
He was invited by Speaker of the
House John Boehner, a Republican,
and he accepted with neither party informing the White House.
Mr Netanyahu himself is running
for a third consecutive term which
would be a fourth overall in an Israeli election on March 17.
Our commitments to our partnership with Israel are bedrock commitments rooted in shared fundamental
values cemented through decades of
bipartisan reinforcement, Ms Power
said.
This partnership should never be
politicised.
The Israeli leaders lobbying
expedition to Washington came as US

Secretary of State John Kerry was in
Switzerland for talks with his Iranian
counterpart on what would be an historic deal.
But Mr Netanyahu denied that his
action had harmed the traditionally
close US-Israeli alliance.
Reports of the demise of the Israeli-US relations are not only premature,
theyre just wrong.
Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in a
lakeside hotel for a series of sessions
which are scheduled to stretch into
this afternoon.
The pace of the negotiations meant
to rein in Irans suspected nuclear
arms program in exchange for sanctions relief has gathered pace as a
March 31 deadline nears.

Mark Heller, a political analyst at
Israels Institute for National Security Studies says that after years of
warning about the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran, it is hard to imagine
what new angle Mr Netanyahu will
pursue.
Hes been over this ground before
many times and expectations have
been built up to the point where if
he doesnt come up with something
truly explosive. Its going to be a big
letdown, he told AFP.
I think hes going to have to pull
some kind of rabbit out of the hat
and reveal some information thats
not out there in the public domain;
otherwise hell just be preaching to
the converted. AFP
WASHINGTON
High times for budding economy, as marijuana

legalisation sweeps across the United States
FROM aspiring bud tenders to research scientists and Wall Street analysts, marijuana enthusiasts of every
stripe gathered in Washington looking for ways to capitalise on Americas
evolving pot laws.
Billions of dollars could be up
for grabs in years to come as states
allow medical marijuana or fully
decriminalise the drug -- even though it
remains illegal under federal law.
In a scene unthinkable during the
first two decades of Americas longstanding war on drugs, dozens of pot
industry representatives squeezed into
a swish hotel just a few blocks from the
United States Capitol.
Several were raising money for cannabis ventures or looking to recruit
staff but aside from some futuristiclooking metal pipes and glass bongs
there was little of the paraphernalia one
might ordinarily expect at a cannabis
convention.
Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you kind of need to jump on
it now to be ahead of the game, said
Nicklaus Tilford, a Tennessee chef who
had just given his resume to a Washington-based medicinal marijuana grower searching for a part-time junior
gardener.
Its either now or never, he said.
A total of 23 states have now legalised marijuana for medical use. Colorado, Washington state, Alaska, Oregon
and the US capital have recently passed
laws legalising it altogether.
Other vacant positions up for grabs
included marijuana bud tender, a

plant trimmer, cannabinoid research
scientists and even genetic analysts.
While the part-time junior gardener
position only offered US$12 an hour,
Pritesh Kumar, who heads the Phytostaffing medicinal cannabis staffing
agency, said the starting salary for an
expert chemist was between $150,000
and $300,000.
The event came two days after Washington started allowing pot use. People
in the nations capital can now light up
in private without fear of arrest, though
selling the drug and consuming it on
federal grounds remain prohibited.
Washington residents can, however,
grow up to six plants. Many attendees
of the weekend convention came seeking cultivation tips.
The goal for today is really to get a feel for
the DC area, Mr Kumar said, referring to the
capital district.
Voters in several more states are
likely to consider legalisation measures
in 2016 elections, including California
-- home to about 40 million people and
responsible for a huge part of the US
economy.
Opinion polls show a slim majority of Americans support marijuana
legalisation.
Americans are sick and tired of this
prohibition. Theres no indication this is
having any effect whatsoever, National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws executive director Allen St
Pierre said in a recent interview.
I am sitting here three blocks from
A bud of Maui Afghooey medical

marijuana is displayed at the PureLife
Alternative Wellness Center in Los
Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
the White House. I can literally call a

bike courier here in DC and have cannabis delivered quicker than a Chinese
meal one block away.
Scott Greiper, president of cannabis
consulting and financial services firm
Viridian Capital & Research, said legal

marijuana sales jumped from $250 million in 2012 to $2.5 billion last year.
Mr Greipers company helps smaller,
mom and pop marijuana firms scale
up by bringing in experts and even former federal law enforcement officials to
offer advice.
As much as theres a growth opportunity in the sector ... We find that the
people that are actually running these
businesses dont have a lot of experience and track record of growing, he
said.
Though the drug remains illegal
under federal law, President Barack
Obamas administration has come to
endorse a hands-off approach.
Mr Obama, who has admitted to
using marijuana as a youngster and
having inhaled frequently, has backed
states rights to decide how they handle
the drug.
Once taboo, many politicians now
support legalisation, eying potential
savings in prison and court costs, as
well as tens of millions of dollars in
sales tax revenue.
Activists say marijuana enforcement
wastes billions of dollars in police and
prison costs, and has a life-long impact
on users who get a criminal record, including problems finding work.
Additionally, African Americans are
much more likely than white people to
be arrested for marijuana possession,
even though both groups consume it at
similar rates.
The long-term outcomes of incar-
ceration are significantly worse than

the health outcomes of marijuana use,
said Malik Burnett, a policy manager at
the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington.
But support for legalisation is not
universal.
I am sitting here
three blocks from
the White House.
I can literally call
a bike courier ...
and have cannabis
delivered quicker
than a Chinese meal
one block away
Allen St Pierre
Executive director, NORML
Carla Lowe, who lives in the California state capital Sacramento and is
founder of Citizens Against Legalizing
Marijuana, worried about the potential
adverse effects of marijuana on young
brains.
We have to fight it with every ounce
of our being, she said. It has no redeeming factor. AFP
THE MYANMAR TIMES march 4, 2015
it
ge
t
yo
gers o
fin
n
the pulse editor: CHARLOTTE ROSE charlottelola.rose@gmail.com
The three story house on Sint Oo Dan Road is filled with nik-naks collected by Tina May Thwin Oos grandmother from China and
India, where she fled during the war. Photos: Zarni Phyo
If walls could talk

ZON PANN PWINT
T stands alone, a survivor of history, empty but proud. Within, elegant furniture and cabinets
from China and India gather dust and thick blankets of cobwebs cluster in places. If the threestorey house on Sint Oo Dan Road, Latha township, could speak, it could tell a tale of a family
in war and peace.
It was built in the late 1800s. My grandfather lived here as a boy, my mother grew up here
and I was born here, said 39-year-old Tina May Thwin Oo, sitting in the middle of the top-floor
apartment where nobody has lived since 2002.
My grandfathers parents built this house more than 100 years ago. My grandfather grew up
here, and when he married, he and his wife lived here together, she said.
Tinas grandfather, U Kyee Chaing, is of Chinese descent. His parents were rich and owned a rice
mill and a ruby mine in Kachin State, but when the Second World War broke out, they fled from the
advancing Japanese, first to China and then to India. The surrounding buildings were destroyed in
the war, but this house survived.
Tina says the neighbours believed it was the Chinese Buddha statues still scattered around the
living room that Tinas grandparents worshipped which protected their house from bombs. They
told her they saw the Buddha statues come alive.
U Kyee Chaing put one of the statues inside a glass box to protect it from dust. One night, Tina
says, he dreamt that the statue told him it was suffocating, so he made a hole in the glass.
My grandparents and their children occupied the entire house. My grandfather was interested
in politics. His parents wanted their only son to be a businessman, but my grandfather preferred to
go into politics, she said.
U Kyee Chaing joined the party of Myanmars first prime minister, U Nu, and later became a
member of parliament. But his political career did not last long.
He was detained for being involved with U Nus party, leaving my grandmother with five children.
Two of them were studying at the Institute of Medicine so she faced financial hardship. She decided to
rent out the first and second floors to support them, and the family lived on the third floor, said Tina.
Tina never met her grandfather, who died shortly after being released from prison.
For legal reasons, the lower two floors were occupied for years by tenants who paid very low
rent. My mother is very patient. She never fought for her rights. The tenants never left, she said.
The house measures 60 feet by 30 feet. The walls are three feet thick. On a mezzanine floor
stands a cabinet full of medical books.
My uncle visits every year. He always asks me not to throw away his medical books, Tina said.
Tina led us to the kitchen and pointed at the mezzanine floor where housemaids slept.
My grandfather had three housemaids. My grandmother raised them in the house. They left
when they got married, she said.
Tinas grandmother and her aunt, who remains unmarried, continued to live in the house until
1987. My father bought land in Pho Sein Road, Tarmwe township. Our family moved to a new
house, but my grandmother and my aunt continued to live here, she said.
Her grandmother passed away in 1991, leaving Tinas aunt to live alone in Sint Oo Dan Road.
We would deliver meals to her twice a day, she said.
About 11 years later, Tina gave birth to a baby girl and wanted her aunt to live with them.
When my husband and I go to work, my child and nanny remain in the house. I wanted them to
live under my aunts guidance. Finally, my aunt yielded to my desire, said Tina, who lives with her
family in Latha township.
The house has been empty since 2002, when her aunt moved to her house. But Tinas mother
visits once a month to check that the electricity and water are running.
The building was roofed with brick tiles. Last year, the roof leaked, the old tiles were replaced
with iron roofing. The brick tiles are very precious. The Secretariat building was roofed with brick
tiles too. I wanted to donate them when I heard that the Secretariat building roof was leaking.
When other house owners tried to buy them, I refused to sell, she said. The brick tiles are kept in
the store room next to the toilet and bathroom.
Tinas parents wanted to live peacefully, and the burden of looking after the house fell on Tina,
whose sister works overseas.
Many people advised us to the apartment because of its location in Chinatown, and because its
still in good condition. My concern is that a tenant might not know how to treasure the furniture
and all the things from my grandparents period. So I decided not to rent it out, she said.
Even though the house has been empty, twice a year the family would open the doors to
celebrate Chinese New Year until 2013.
I dont want to demolish the building or sell it to a property developer. I am afraid that the
history of our generation will disappear and our inheritance will be lost. So it is hard to think of the
future of this building except leaving it empty, Tina said. But though nobody lives there, the house
is full of memories.
Pulse 21
www.mmtimes.com
Riding
the rails
to transport
revolution
Commuters climb down from a train in Yangon on November 26. Photos: AFP/Soe Than Win
rains chug around

Yangons circular railway at
a stately pace barely faster
than a brisk walk, but this
creaking relic of colonial
times is at the heart of plans for a
public transport revolution in the
traffic-choked metropolis.
Rush hour spills a throng of
passengers toward Kyi Kyi Wins
cigarette stand at a downtown
station, and the tobacconist says she
has seen more commuters using the
trains since changes to the citys longneglected network were introduced.
Only poor people used to use the
sleepy rural suburbs into the heart of

Myanmars main city.
Its ponderous pace just 15km per
hour has for years made the link the
last resort of those too poor to afford
a car or wearied by the citys sweaty
and dangerously speedy buses.
But moves to revive the service
have seen travellers return to rail.
I always feared for my life on
the bus and the traffic was very bad,
said Tin Tin Win, who switched to
commuting by train two years ago,
when rail authorities began their
upgrades.
The new air-conditioned carriages
train because the tickets were very

cheap, she said, sprinkling rows of
green leaves with tobacco and betel
nuts and folding them into bitesized parcels for sale at San San Aye
station.
But upgrades including higherpriced air-conditioned carriages have
drawn wealthier customers aboard,
delighting Kyi Kyi Win who says the
average spend on her betel has soared
from K50 per person to K200.
Built under British colonial rule,
the railway winds a 50-kilometre (30mile) loop around Yangon, ferrying
some 100,000 people a day from
Commuters ride a tram in downtown Yangon.
plastered with advertisements for

Red Bull and Myanmar Beer were
added shortly before the launch of a
new Yangon tram that now trundles
along the citys riverfront road.
They are all part of a plan to entice
people off the roads, which have
been choked by the influx of cars that
accompanied the countrys opening to
the world after decades of military rule.
And the gridlock looks set to get
worse.
Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), working with
Myanmar on several nationwide
transport projects, warns
Yangons roads will be paralysed
without urgent improvements to
infrastructure.
It predicts the citys population
will double to around 10 million in
the next 20 years, while the number
of cars clogging Yangons pot-holed
roads will quadruple to around 1
million.
It is the right time to start
thinking about the future
transportation system, JICAs
Myanmar head Tanaka Masahiko
said.
He says developing the countrys
public transport system, particularly
rail, lies at the heart of solving its
infrastructure woes and in turn
drawing foreign investors.
Yangon officials appear to be
taking the advice on board, saying
they plan to replace more of the citys
rusting old trains and computerise
control and safety mechanisms.
We are particularly focused on
getting trains to be punctual, cheap,
and easy for passengers to travel into
the city, said Htun Aung Thin of the
rail ministry.
But luring people off the roads
is still a major challenge only 1

percent of Yangon journeys were
made by rail in 2013. Some 50pc were
on buses and around 8pc each in taxis
and private cars or vans.
Megan Quirk, an urban planner
who has worked with Yangon
authorities, said road congestion
could be eased with small changes
such as networked traffic lights to
replace police on walkie talkies and
public education campaigns.
For the circular railway to reach
its full potential it would need to be
better integrated with plans for the
citys booming property development
allowing it to connect densely
populated neighbourhoods, she said.
But recent proposals such as
lifting the ban on motorbikes in
Yangon would likely make things
worse by tempting people off buses,
rather than persuading car drivers to
take to two wheels.
Meanwhile large projects like a
proposed subway system would be
disruptive to implement.
Things are going to get a lot
worse before they get better, Quirk
said.
Myanmar is eager to avoid the
perennial traffic jams that plague
other Southeast Asian cities, but
the plans to upgrade its transport
network are expensive JICA
estimates countrywide improvements
would cost around US$20 billion.
The task will also stretch Yangons
authorities, still often working
without office computers.
For vendors like Kyi Kyi Win, a
busier station means more business
and a safer neighbourhood and
shes positive about the changes.
I think things will be even better
in the future, she said. AFP
22 Pulse
Miss Farmer
hopefuls sow
their stuff
Nandar Aung
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com
HE will be in no danger of
tumbling over her own high
heels on the catwalk.
And her views
on world peace
may be on the downto-earth side. But Miss
Farmer 2015, when she
is chosen, will be a very
capable representative
of the people who
produce the
nations food
and run its huge
agricultural
sector.
She will
look, indeed,
like a farmer
and, most
particularly, a
paddy farmer.
The competition,
now in its third year, is being organised

by the Myanmar Paddy Producers
Association and the Myanmar AgroTech Expo 2015, which will run from
March 27 to 29 at the Myanmar
Convention Centre, Mindhamma
Street, Mayangone township.
The musical accompaniment to
the competition will feature songs
about farming, including the
benefits of mechanisation over
traditional methods.
Organisers want to
showcase the
life of women
on the farm,
and honour
them for the
A pageant
hopeful walks the
catwalk at the Miss Farmer
2014 contest. Photo: Supplied
A Miss Farmer 2012 contestant demonstrates traditional farming methods. Photo: Staff
contribution they make.

Were used to seeing the Miss
Universe type of competition for
beautiful women. But we think its
time to put the spotlight on the life
of farm women, to show how hard
they work to help their families,
said U Soe Win, joint secretary of
the Myanmar Paddy Producers
Association and secretary for the Miss
Farmer Contest 2015. All states and
regions will be represented among

the competitors.
The final will be held at the MCC
hall on March 29. The first prize is
K5 million, with a golden crown.
The second prize is K3 million, and
the third prize K2 million. All three
winners get the chance to take an
overseas trip.
Last year, Ma Kyi Win from Shan
State won first prize.
The competition is open to fit,

healthy, single Myanmar women
between 18 and 25 years old; over 5
feet, 3 inches tall (160 centimetres);
and weighing at least 110 pounds
(50 kilograms). They can register
with the Myanmar Paddy Producers
Association at the 5th floor, UMFCCI
Office Tower, Min Ye Kyaw Swar
Street, Lanmadaw township, until
March 16.
How long can you go without your phone? What if its for a good cause?
Professor James Roberts
remembers when he used to walk
into his Baylor University classroom
and have to to yell over the din of his
students, begging them to quiet down
for the start of class.
Today, he says, he walks in the
room, and you can hear a pin drop.
They are all on their phones.
To any parent of teenagers like
Roberts actually, to anyone who
spends time in public places in
America this is probably not too
surprising. As our smartphone
dependency becomes ever more
socially acceptable, the number of
places you wont find people glued to
palm-sized screens is dwindling.
So why would a major charity base
one of its largest fundraisers on the
hope that people would put down

those phones?
Thats the gamble UNICEF took
last year when it adapted its Tap
Project (donate US$1 at restaurants
for your free glass of water) to a pitch
asking potential benefactors to set
their phones down on a table, and
leave them there.
A special app then counts every
second they can go without touching
their phones. For every 10 minutes,
an outside donor had pledged to
UNICEF the funding for one day of
clean drinking water for a child in
need. It worked. In a month and a
half, more than 2.6 million people
spent nearly 255 million in the
phones down mode. In return,
Giorgio Armani Fragrances and
other donors contributed more than

$1 million to UNICEFs water and
sanitation programs. The average
time users spent without their phones
was an hour and a half.
This years Tap Project accessible
on your phone at tap.unicefusa.org
began on March 1. UNICEF president
and CEO Caryl Sterns said that people
will agree to do without something we
think we cant do without, in order to
ensure others get something they really
cant live without.
Something we think we cant do
without. How did we get to this point
anyway? Roberts, the professor, put
his classroom observations to the test
when he tried to figure out just how
much college students use their cell
phones. His study found that male
college students spend eight hours

a day on their cell phones. Female
students spent 10 hours. And 60
percent of his participants admitted
they might be addicted to their
devices.
While they are watching TV
and doing their homework, they
are posting pictures to Instagram,
tweeting and answering emails,
he said. Its easy to throw in
nine, 10 hours a day when you are
multitasking.
Adults and professionals often feel
that same pull that need to check
their work email after-hours, say.
In a psychological sense, we
feel like, Everyone expects me to be
on, said Leslie Perlow, a Harvard
Business School professor who wrote
TODAY
Yangon Art and Heritage Festival. Various
events at venues across the city (see
page 50). For more information visit www.
yangonartandheritage.com
My Past, My Self. Solo art show by
abstract artist Thar Gyi as part of the
Yangon Art and Heritage Festival (until
March 8). River Gallery 2, 33-35, 37th and
38th Street 4-6pm
TOMORROW
Like Flower Like Leaf. Art by female
artists in celebration of International
the book Sleeping With Your Smart

Phone. And youre right, everyone
does expect you to be on.
Perlows research has shown that
for many people, stepping away from
their phones doesnt seem like a freeing
experience. It gives them anxiety. They
might be inclined to take a technology
breather only if they have a legitimate
reason to do so, like a planned vacation
or an agreement from their boss that
they arent expected to answer emails
past 7pm.
The Tap Projects success, Perlow
said, might be the notion that helping
a charity gives them an excuse to
unplug. Its also a way to contribute
to a good cause without actually
opening their wallets.
The Washington Post
Got an event?
List it in Whats On!
whatsonmt@gmail.com
Womens Day. Think Art Gallery, 23

Nawaday Street, Dagon 10am-6pm
Building Histories. Exhibition by nine
contemporary artists from Southeast
Asia, five local artists and four artists
from neighbouring countries at the newly
renovated Goethe-Villa. 8 Ko Min Ko Chin
Road (next to the Golden Butterfly Hotel),
Bahan 10am-7pm
the pulse 23
www.mmtimes.com
The Global Gossip

Bill Gates still worlds richest
man
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates

kept his spot as the worlds richest
man, a rank he has held for 16 of
the past 21 years, Forbes magazine
said on March 2.
The Microsoft co-founders
fortune increased US$3.2 billion
since last year to $79.2 billion, the
business magazine said, despite
a $1.5 billion gift of Microsoft
Bills still got it. Photo: AFP
shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation in November.
Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim held onto second place thanks to his $77.1
billion, ahead of American investor Warren Buffett, with $72.7 billion.
The so-called Oracle of Omaha was the biggest gainer of the Forbes list this
year, up $14.5 billion from last year riding on the rising share price of his Berkshire
Hathaway.
In fourth was Amancio Ortega, founder of the Inditex fashion group that
includes Zara clothing retail shops. He counts a fortune of $64.5 billion.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg jumped five spots to land in number 16,
the first time he made it within the exclusive circle of the worlds 20 richest people.
The number of billionaires is growing steadily, breaking an all-time record this
year, with 1826 up from 1645 last year.
Big Bang: Not just pretty faces they write their own songs too. Photo: Supplied
K-pop fans
get more bang for the buck
Chit Su
suwai.chit@gmail.com
K
Actress Cate Blanchett attends the
premiere of Disneys Cinderella
at the El Capitan Theatre in
Hollywood on March 1. Photo: AFP/
Kevin Winter
Actor and former governor of

California Arnold Schwarzenegger
accepts his lifetime achievement
award at the annual German film
and television award ceremony
Golden Camera in Hamburg,
northern Germany, on February 27.
Photo: AFP/Christian Charisius
Massive demand for Grateful Dead final shows
The Grateful Dead embodied the hippie spirit, but the free market has sent prices
for resold tickets to the bands final shows soaring to more than US$100,000.
Tickets for the rock legends three July 4 weekend shows at Chicagos Soldier
Field which has a capacity of 61,500 sold out within minutes after going online
on February 28.
Nearly 500,000 people queued up on the site to buy Grateful Dead tickets, a
record for vendor Ticketmaster, the band said on a website for the shows.
The huge demand has sent the costs of tickets surging on resale sites. On
StubHub, four sellers were asking for more than $100,000 for a three-day pass.
Another site, TiqIQ, put the market value as of March 2 for a three-day pass at
more than $2500.
The original list-price for the three-day pass started at $194, while single
tickets started at $72.
The Grateful Dead, who emerged from the San Francisco hippie scene in the
1960s, became a defining band for many free spirits of the baby boom generation.
Frontman Jerry Garcia died in 1995 but the surviving members planned the
three concerts at Soldier Field to celebrate the bands 50th anniversary in what they
acknowledge will likely be a swansong.
Keeping the tradition of the band that emerged before the Internet era, the
Grateful Dead also sold tickets by mail through money orders a means of
payment that is increasingly rare.
Queenie updates her

profile pic (kind of)
A new portrait of Queen

Elizabeth II which will appear
on coins in Britain was unveiled
on March 2 only the fifth one
of her 63-year reign.
The likeness shows the
88-year-old monarch facing
right in profile and wearing a
crown and drop earrings. It
replaces a previous portrait
which dates back to 1998.
Its a sterling image. Photo: AFP/ Justin Tallis
The image was designed by
Jody Clark, an engraver at the
Royal Mint, the south Wales-based body responsible for making Britains coins.
The new coins featuring the portrait go into production from March 2 and are
likely to start appearing in peoples pockets later this year.
Jodys achievement is something that we can celebrate as a proud moment for
the Royal Mint, said Adam Lawrence, its chief executive.
Capturing a portrait on the surface of a coin demands the utmost skill and is
one of the most challenging disciplines of the coin designers art.
orean boy band Big

Bang is to perform
their first concert
in Myanmar in July,
hosted by Living
Sound Entertainment.
Jaw Maran, CEO of Living
Sound Entertainment who
also organised the popular 2NE1
concert held in Yangon in August
said over 40,000 people are
expected to attend the event, the
venue for which has not yet been
confirmed.
The band has agreed to play,
but first we have to find a venue

big enough for an audience of
40,000. This will be a good trial
run for us for the next time we
hold a big concert in Myanmar,
he said.
The price of tickets for last
years 2NE1 concert, which
ranged from US$40 to $900,
caused outrage among some
K-pop fans, but Jaw Maran said
tickets for the Big Bang concert
will be more affordable: between
$25 and $200.
Big Bang is one of the
most popular K-pop bands in
Myanmar. Since their debut in
2006, band members G-Dragon,
Top, Taeyang, Daesung and

Seungri have produced many hit
songs, such as Last Farewell
and Lies, as well as recent charttoppers Tonight and Fantastic
Baby. Major players in the
Korean music scene, the band has
a considerable influence on music
and fashion alike.
Living Sound Entertainment
is also currently organising a
K-pop concert, going by the name
of The Music Bank, in Vietnam,
which they hope Myanmar fans
will attend.
We are arranging a package
for Myanmar audiences to attend
the concert, Jaw Maran said.
24 Pulse
DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to Mandalay
Flight
Y5 775
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 891
K7 282
YJ 891
W9 201
YH 835
YH 831
YH 826
YH 909
YJ 829
7Y 131
K7 266
8M 6603
YJ 211
YJ 601
YJ 201
YH 911
YJ 761
YJ 233
YH 729
YH 737
YH 727
W9 251
7Y 941
7Y 841
7Y 943
K7 822
K7 622
YJ 201
K7 226
7Y 241
YH 731
Y5 234
W9 211
Days
Daily
1,3,4,6
1,3,4,5,6,7
1,2,4,5,6,7
Daily
3
Daily
7
4,6
3
2
5
Daily
Daily
4
5,7
6
1,2,4
2
1,2,4
6
2,4,6
3,5,7
1
2,5
1,3,4,6
2,5
7
4,7
1,3,5,7
3
2,4,6
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
Daily
4
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:00
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:15
8:00
9:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:30
11:45
11:45
11:45
12:30
13:00
13:00
13:30
14:30
14:30
15:20
15:30
Arr
7:10
7:40
8:30
8:05
8:10
8:35
8:25
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:40
11:05
9:20
10:05
10:10
12:25
12:25
12:25
12:40
12:55
12:55
14:00
13:25
13:25
12:55
13:10
13:10
13:10
16:55
14:25
14:25
14:55
16:25
16:40
16:30
16:55
Yangon to Nyaung U
Flight
K7 282
YJ 891
YJ 909
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 811
YJ 891
YJ 881
YH 917
YH 909
YJ 801
K7 242
YH 909
7Y 131
7Y 121
YJ 881
Y5 649
K7 264
YH 731
7Y 241
YH 731
W9 129
W9 211
Days
Daily
1,2,4,5,6,7
5
1,3,4,6
1,3,4,5,6,7
3
3
7
2
5
6
Daily
7
Daily
1
3
Daily
Daily
7
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,6
4
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:15
6:30
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:15
8:20
9:30
10:30
14:30
14:30
14:30
14:30
15:30
15:30
Days
5
7
4,6
3
1
1,2,4
2,5
5
1,3,5,7
3
Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
8:00
11:00
11:30
11:45
13:00
13:00
Days
1,3,4,6
Daily
1,2,4,5,6,7
1,2,4,5,6,7
3
Daily
1,3,4,5,6,7
Daily
2
Daily
Daily
5
4
4,6
3
7
5
2
1,2,4
6
1,2
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1
Daily
4
2,4,7
4
2,4,6
1,2,4,5,7
3,5,7
3
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
6
2,5
Dep
7:40
7:50
8:20
8:20
8:50
8:25
8:30
8:40
8:20
9:35
10:20
11:05
13:10
13:20
13:20
15:00
15:00
15:30
15:30
15:40
16:35
16:40
16:40
16:45
17:10
17:10
17:10
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:25
17:30
17:40
17:45
17:45
18:15
Arr
9:45
9:00
10:15
10:15
10:45
11:30
10:45
10:35
10:35
11:30
12:25
14:55
17:00
14:45
14:45
16:25
17:05
17:25
16:55
17:35
18:00
18:45
18:45
18:10
18:20
19:15
18:35
18:30
18:45
18:30
18:50
18:55
19:05
19:10
19:10
19:40
Nyaung U to Yangon
Arr
7:20
7:20
7:35
8:25
7:45
7:35
7:50
7:50
8:05
8:05
8:20
8:20
8:35
8:35
9:40
10:50
11:50
16:40
16:50
17:10
17:25
17:35
17:40
Yangon to Myitkyina
Flight
YH 829
YH 835
YH 831
YH 826
YH 835
YJ 201
W9 251
7Y 841
K7 622
YJ 201
Mandalay to Yangon
Flight
YH 910
Y5 233
YJ 891
YJ 891
YJ 891
K7 283
YH 918
W9 201
YH 910
7Y 132
K7 267
YH 830
YJ 762
YH 832
YH 827
YJ 212
YJ 212
YH 912
YJ 202
YJ 602
YJ 762
7Y 242
YH 732
YH 728
Y5 776
W9 211
K7 823
8M 6604
K7 227
8M 903
YH 738
YJ 202
K7 623
YH 730
YJ 234
W9 252
Arr
9:40
10:05
10:05
10:05
11:00
13:50
14:25
14:35
15:55
15:50
Flight
YJ 892
YH 918
YH 918
YH 910
YJ 892
YJ 881
YJ 881
YH 910
YH 910
YH 801
K7 242
7Y 131
7Y 121
K7 283
YJ 881
Y5 650
YH 732
K7 265
7Y 242
W9 129
YH 732
Days
1,2,4,5,6,7
1,3,4,5,6,7
2
5
3
7
1,2,4,5
1,3,4,6
7
6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
3
Daily
7
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
1,2,3,4,5,6
Dep
7:35
7:45
8:05
8:05
8:05
8:05
8:20
8:25
8:35
8:35
8:35
8:50
9:55
10:10
11:05
13:55
16:50
16:55
17:25
17:50
17:25
Arr
10:15
10:45
10:10
10:10
10:45
10:10
10:25
9:45
9:55
9:55
11:45
11:30
14:10
11:30
12:25
15:15
18:10
18:15
18:45
19:10
18:45
Myitkyina to Yangon
Flight
YH 832
YH 836
YH 827
YH 830
YH 836
YJ 202
YJ 202
K7 623
YJ 234
W9 252
Days
4,6
7
3
5
1
1,2,4
3
1,3,5,7
6
2,5
Dep
11:55
11:55
11:55
12:30
12:50
14:05
16:05
16:10
16:20
16:45
Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
14:55
15:40
16:55
18:55
19:05
19:10
19:40
Yangon to Heho
Flight
YJ 891
K7 282
YH 917
YH 917
YH 909
YJ 891
YJ 881
YJ 881
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 266
YJ 835
7Y 121
Y5 649
YH 505
YJ 751
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 233
YJ 751
YH 727
YH 737
7Y 941
K7 828
K7 822
K7 264
7Y 241
YH 731
W9 129
Days
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
1,3,4,5,6,7
2
5
3
7
1,2,4,5
Daily
Daily
Daily
1
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
7
5
1,2,3,4
6
3
1
3,5,7
1,2,4,6
1,3,5
2,4,7
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:30
6:30
6:30
6:30
6:45
7:00
7:15
8:00
8:00
8:20
10:30
10:30
10:30
10:45
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:15
11:45
12:30
12:30
14:30
14:30
14:30
15:30
Heho to Yangon
Arr
8:50
9:00
9:35
9:00
9:00
9:20
8:45
9:00
9:15
10:05
9:15
9:25
10:35
12:45
11:55
11:40
11:55
12:10
12:10
12:25
12:40
12:40
13:55
13:45
13:45
15:45
15:40
15:55
16:40
Flight
YH 910
YH 918
YJ 881
YJ 891
K7 283
YJ 881
W9 201
YH 836
K7 243
YH 918
7Y 132
7Y 121
K7 267
YH 506
YJ 752
YJ 762
YJ 762
YH 732
7Y 241
YH 732
K7 829
YH 728
YJ 752
YJ 602
K7 264
YH 738
YJ 752
W9 129
Arr
8:15
8:38
9:05
17:00
Flight
Y5 326
7Y 532
K7 320
Y5 326
Arr
12:55
14:55
Flight
W9 309
K7 423
Arr
10:35
13:10
13:50
13:05
13:35
16:40
Flight
K7 243
YH 506
7Y 122
W9 309
K7 422
Y5 422
Arr
8:10
7:48
Flight
K7 320
7Y 532
Arr
13:00
13:00
15:00
13:18
14:50
Flight
YJ 752
YJ 752
K7 829
K7 829
7Y 742
YH 730
Arr
10:05
10:05
11:00
11:00
11:55
15:25
Flight
YH 836
YH 832
YH 827
YH 836
W9 252
Yangon to Myeik
Flight
Y5 325
7Y 531
K7 319
Y5 325
Days
1,5
1,5
2,4,6
2
Dep
6:45
7:00
7:00
15:30
Days
1,3,6
Daily
Dep
11:30
13:00
Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,6
Daily
Daily
1,3,4,6
Dep
7:00
10:30
11:30
12:15
13:00
15:45
Days
2,4,6
1,5
Dep
7:00
7:00
Days
5
2,4,6
3
1,5
1,3,5
Dep
10:45
11:00
11:15
11:30
12:30
Days
7
6
4
3
1
2,5
Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
8:00
11:30
Arr
10:05
12:18
13:35
18:45
Days
1,3,6
Daily
Dep
13:10
15:10
Arr
14:55
16:30
Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
Daily
1,3,6
Daily
1,3,4,6
Dep
10:50
13:10
13:20
14:05
14:10
16:55
Arr
11:45
14:00
14:10
14:55
16:30
17:50
Days
2,4,6
1,5
Dep
12:25
11:30
Days
3
5
1,3
5
1,5
2,4,6
Dep
11:15
13:15
15:05
15:05
16:00
16:45
Arr
17:30
16:30
15:55
17:25
17:48
19:10
putao to yangon
Days
7
4,6
3
1
2,5
Dep
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:55
15:45
Air Bagan (W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102
Air KBZ (K7)

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

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640
Fax: 532333, 516654
Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051
Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020
Yangon Airways (YH)
Airline Codes
7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines
K7 = Air KBZ
W9 = Air Bagan
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
YH = Yangon Airways
YJ = Asian Wings
Arr
13:35
12:18
lashio to Yangon
yangon to putao
Flight
YH 835
YH 831
YH 831
YH 826
YH 835
W9 251
Dep
8:35
10:45
11:30
17:15
dawei to Yangon
yangon to lashio
Flight
YJ 751
YH 729
YJ 751
7Y 741
K7 828
Days
1,5
1,5
2,4,6
2
Domestic Airlines
Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264

Fax: 652 533
thandwe to Yangon
yangon to dawei
Flight
K7 319
7Y 531
Arr
10:10
10:10
10:10
10:15
11:30
10:25
10:35
15:40
11:45
10:45
11:30
14:10
12:25
14:00
16:30
17:00
18:00
18:10
18:45
18:45
17:25
18:10
17:30
17:35
18:15
18:50
17:55
19:10
sittwe to Yangon
Yangon to thandwe
Flight
K7 242
YH 505
W9 309
7Y 122
K7 422
Y5 421
Dep
9:00
9:00
9:00
9:05
9:15
9:15
9:25
9:25
9:30
9:35
10:20
10:50
11:10
11:55
14:20
15:00
15:50
15:55
15:55
15:55
16:10
16:00
16:20
16:25
16:30
16:40
16:45
16:55
Myeik to Yangon
Yangon to sittwe
Flight
W9 309
K7 422
Days
5
2
7
1,2,4,5,6,7
Daily
1,2,4,5
Daily
1
Daily
1,3,4,5,6,7
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
5
4
1,2
7
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,5
1
3
6
Daily
3,5,7
7
1,3,6
Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
15:40
19:40
Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday
Pulse 25
www.mmtimes.com
International FLIGHT SCHEDULES

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Flights
PG 706
8M 335
TG 304
PG 702
TG 302
PG 708
8M 331
PG 704
PG 704
Y5 237
TG 306
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
7
Daily
Daily
BANGKOK TO YANGON
Dep
6:05
8:40
9:50
10:30
14:50
15:20
16:30
18:20
19:30
19:00
19:50
Arr
8:20
10:25
11:45
12:25
16:45
17:15
18:15
20:15
21:45
20:50
21:45
YANGON TO DON MUEANG

Flights
DD 4231
FD 252
FD 256
FD 254
FD 258
DD 4239
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
2,4,6
Daily
2,3,5
Dep
8:00
8:30
12:50
17:35
21:30
21:00
Arr
9:45
10:20
14:40
19:25
23:15
22:55
Flights
DD 4230
FD 251
FD 255
FD 253
FD 257
DD 4238
Days
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Arr
12:25
14:15
2:35
15:10
16:20
20:50
21:15
0:10+1
Flights
TR 2822
Y5 2234
SQ 998
3K 581
MI 533
8M 232
MI 518
3K 583
Arr
18:00
12:45
16:30
16:30
20:15
20:15
23:20
Flights
AK 504
MH 740
8M 9505
8M 502
8M 9507
MH 742
AK 502
Days
3,5,7
Days
2,4,7
3,6
1,5
Days
Daily
Dep
23:50
Arr
0550+1
Flights
CA 905
Arr
13:15
15:55
22:10
Flights
CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712
Days
Daily
3
1,2,4,5,6,7
Days
3,5,7
Arr
16:10
Flights
CI 7915
Arr
15:55
18:50
18:15
Flights
MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Days
3,6
1,5
2,4,7
Days
1,3,5,6,7
Days
2,4,7
Days
Daily
Days
1,4,6
Dep
19:10
Arr
21:25
Flights
VN 957
Dep
14:25
Arr
17:05
Flights
VN 943
Days
4,7
Daily
Arr
11:40
Days
Daily
Flights
QR 918
Arr
8:50
07:45+1
Flights
KE 471
0Z 769
Days
Daily
Dep
1:10
Dep
22:10
Arr
05:25
Flights
KA 252
KA 250
Arr
06:45+1
Flights
NH 913
Days
2
5
Arr
13:00
21:00
Flights
BG 060
BG 060
YANGON TO INCHEON
Flights
PG 724
8M 7702
Days
1,3,5,6
Daily
Dep
12:50
23:55
Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7
Arr
14:45
07:45+1
Flights
PG 723
8M 7701
Arr
8:05
12:50
16:20
Flights
Y5 252
7Y 306
W9 608
Dep
6:15
11:00
14:30
Days
1,3,5,6
Days
Daily
Dep
10:30
Arr
11:50
Days
2,4,6
1,2,4,5,6
Dep
14:15
Arr
16:40
Days
Daily
Dep
15:45
7:50
Dep
12:50
Days
Daily
Dep
13:50
Days
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
19:45
Flights
PG 709
Flights
Y5 2234
MI 533
Arr
15:15
Flights
FD 244
Arr
18:10
Days
2,4,7
Dep
11:45
Arr
13:25
Days
3,5,7
Dep
19:45
Air India
Tel: 253597~98, 254758. Fax 248175
Bangkok Airways (PG)
No more than 16 visitors are allowed at any time on Chumbe Island, off the coast
of Tanzania. Photo: The Washington Post/Paige McClanahan
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)
Off the Zanzibar coast,

Chumbe Island
champions eco-tourism
Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119
Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869
Condor (DE)
Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Dragonair (KA)
Tel: 255320, 255321. Fax: 255329
Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051
Malaysia Airlines (MH)
Tel: 387648, 241007 (ext: 120, 121, 122)

Fax: 241124
Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Nok Airline (DD)
Qatar Airways (QR)
Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730
Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290
Thai Airways (TG)
Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223
Tiger Airline (TR)
Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Vietnam Airlines (VN)
Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086
Days
Daily
3,6
Dep
18:30
19:30
Days
2,4,6
1,3,5,7
Dep
22:20
21:50
Days
Daily
3K = Jet Star
Arr
22:30
23:40
AK = Air Asia
Arr
00:15+1
23:45
Dep
11:45
Days
2
5
Dep
8:30
16:30
Days
1,3,5,6
Daily
Dep
11:00
18:30
Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7
Dep
9:25
13:45
17:20
Days
1,3,5,6
Dep
12:50
Days
Daily
Dep
12:05
Arr
16:40
Flights
MU 2029
Arr
22:45
Flights
PG 721
Days
Daily
2,4,6
Dep
7:20
11:30
Days
Daily
Dep
10:55
Airline Codes
Arr
0459+1
8M = Myanmar Airways International
BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern
Arr
17:15
DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
Arr
10:45
18:45
Arr
11:55
22:30
KA = Dragonair
KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air
MU = China Eastern Airlines
Arr
10:15
14:35
18:10
Arr
16:00
Arr
13:25
Arr
16:30
14:50
DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

Arr
12:20
NH = All Nippon Airways

PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways
SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
Subject to change
without notice
KUNMING TO MANDALAY
NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK

Flights
PG 722
Flights
8M 602
Arr
20:50
14:15
MANDALAY TO KUNMING
Flights
MU 2030
Dep
16:40
singapore to mandalay
MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights
FD 245
Arr
11:50
11:30
14:00
BANGKOK TO MANDALAY
MANDALAY TO singapore
Flights
MI 533
Y5 2233
Dep
8:25
11:10
13:30
gaya TO YANGON
MANDALAY TO BANGKOK
Flights
PG 710
Arr
9:50
chiang mai TO YANGON
YANGON TO gaya
Flights
8M 601
Air China (CA)
Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)
Dep
7:00
INCHEON TO YANGON
YANGON TO chiang mai

Flights
Y5 251
7Y 305
W9 607
Arr
10:35
16:40
15:50
DHAKA TO YANGON
Dep
11:45
19:45
Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)
Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102
Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051
Dep
8:35
14:40
14:15
TOKYO TO YANGON
YANGON TO DHAKA
Flights
BG 061
BG 061
Arr
22:50
HONG KONG TO YANGON
YANGON TO TOKYO
Flights
NH 914
Days
1,3,5,6,7
Tel: 09254049991~3
Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305
Dep
19:30
SEOUL TO YANGON
YANGON TO HONG KONG

Flights
KA 251
Arr
8:00
11:15
11:15
20:10
15:05
15:05
18:25
DOHA TO YANGON
Dep
7:55
Dep
0:50
23:55
Days
3
Daily
1,2,4,5,6,7
Air Asia (FD)
HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON
YANGON TO SEOUL
Flights
0Z 770
KE 472
Dep
6:55
10:05
10:05
19:10
13:55
13:55
17:20
HANOI TO YANGON
YANGON TO DOHA
Flights
QR 919
Arr
8:45
8:50
9:20
10:40
12:45
14:50
15:45
10:40
KUNMING TO YANGON
Dep
12:30
12:40
14:50
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

Flights
VN 942
Dep
7:20
7:20
7:55
9:10
11:30
13:25
14:20
17:20
TAIPEI TO YANGON
Dep
10:50
YANGON TO HANOI
Flights
VN 956
Arr
7:15
8:00
12:20
17:05
20:55
20:15
GUANGZHOU TO YANGON
Dep
8:40
11:35
17:40
YANGON TO KUNMING
Flights
CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
International Airlines
Tel: 666112, 655882
Dep
6:30
7:15
11:35
16:20
20:15
19:25
BEIJING TO YANGON
YANGON TO TAIPEI
Flights
CI 7916
Arr
8:45
9:40
22:20
12:40
13:50
14:30
17:35
18:45
18:50
20:05
21:30
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON
Dep
14:00
8:30
12:15
12:15
16:00
16:00
19:05
YANGON TO GUANGZHOU
Flights
8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
2,4,6
Daily
Daily
2,3,5
YANGON TO BEIJING
Flights
CA 906
Dep
8:00
8:45
21:30
11:55
13:05
13:40
16:45
17:55
18:05
19:20
20:15
SINGAPORE TO YANGON
Dep
8:00
9:45
9:45
10:25
11:45
13:35
16:40
19:30
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

Flights
8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
8M 9506
MH 743
8M 9508
AK 503
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
7
Daily
Daily
Daily
DON MUEANG TO YANGON
YANGON TO SINGAPORE
Flights
8M 231
Y5 2233
TR 2823
SQ 997
3K 582
MI 533
MI 519
3K 584
Flights
TG 303
PG 701
Y5 238
8M 336
TG 301
PG 707
PG 703
PG 703
TG 305
8M 332
PG 705
Days
Daily
Dep
12:55
Arr
12:50
BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

Days
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
17:15
Arr
19:15
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday
t first, the island was just a

blur on the horizon; a low,
gray smudge on which I
fixed my gaze in the hopes
of keeping myself from
losing my breakfast over the side of the
boat. The morning mist had turned to
rain, and the steely blue swells outside
our wooden vessel were getting bigger
as we cruised away from Zanzibar, the
island from which we were venturing
even further afield.
We were heading toward Chumbe,
a sliver of coral reef and jungle that sits
in the Indian Ocean about 20 miles (32
kilometres) off the coast of mainland
Tanzania. The island has no roads, no
power lines and fewer than a dozen
buildings; it covers an area of 54 acres,
about one-third the size of Washington,
DCs Mall. But, small as it may be,
Chumbe is breaking ground in marine
conservation.
By the time our guide turned off
the boats engine, the sun had emerged
and the ocean had transformed into
a peaceful lagoon that shimmered a
miraculous shade of turquoise. And
there we were: Chumbe, said to be
the worlds first privately managed
marine protected area and still the only
one in Africa. Being private, Chumbe
doesnt get any government money;
its conservation work is funded by the
visitors, like us, who come to the island
to relax and get a close-up look at one
of the most pristine coral reefs in East
Africa.
In line with its status as a
conservation area, Chumbe has some
strict rules, we were told. A maximum
of 16 guests are allowed on the
island at any time. Fishing and scuba
diving are both forbidden, as is shell
collecting, which I admit I was slightly
disappointed to hear. But we were
actively encouraged to explore the reef
the old-fashioned way: with flippers
and a snorkel.
And so we did at least half a dozen
times during our stay. As soon as I
stuck my head underwater, I was face
to face with a maze of corals that were
branching, ballooning or just waving
in the gentle current. It felt like I was
swimming through an underwater
botanical garden, with the coral flowers
blooming salmon pink, mustard
yellow, a deep maroon. And then there
were the fish. Schools of glimmering
damselfish hung lazily in the water so
tame that I could almost swim into
them. It was another world, and I was
happily lost in it.
In the waters around nearby
Zanzibar, overfishing and booming
tourist numbers are causing long-term
damage to fragile marine ecosystems.
Globally, climate change which is
increasing the acidity of the oceans, as
well as the temperature is taking an
enormous toll on coral reefs and the
species that inhabit them.

People dont talk about pristine
reefs anymore because there are
hardly any left, Ulli Kloiber, Chumbes
manager of conservation and
education, told me during a chat on the
veranda of the main building.
The waters around Chumbe were
still relatively untouched when the
protected area was established in the
mid-1990s, Kloiber explained. The
Tanzanian military had owned the
island for a time but hadnt made
much use of it. Otherwise, Chumbe
had simply been a stop-off point
for fishermen trolling the waters
between the mainland and Zanzibar, a
semiautonomous region of Tanzania;
the islands lack of fresh water
kept away any potential long-term
inhabitants. The only buildings were
a lighthouse and a small mosque that
had been built by British colonisers
around the turn of the 20th century.
So setting up the conservation area
was relatively straightforward, Kloiber
told me the island was pretty much
empty. Today, Chumbes educational
and conservation activities are
managed by Chumbe Island Coral Park
Ltd, a not-for-profit company known as
CHICOP.
The organisation started off by
putting rangers on the island and
working with local fishing communities
to educate them about the reef and
its inhabitants. They soon started to
reach out to local high schools, inviting
students to the island at no cost to
learn about the reef, and experience
it firsthand. Both of those outreach
programs are still active, with all of the
work funded by tourists visits. After
two decades of conservation work,
Chumbes reef is now one of the best
protected in the region.
Like everything else on the island,
Chumbes bungalows which use
only solar power, have pit latrines and
harvest rainwater for the showers
and sink were designed to minimize
any environmental impacts. Its all
in keeping with the fundamental
commitment to conservation that
underlies how the project was designed
and how it continues to be run.
Conservation is their focus, but tourism
is their lifeblood, Kloiber tells me.
The engines of the project are
really the guests, Kloiber says. As long
as the eco-tourism is working, its a selfsustaining project.
The Washington Post
WHERE TO STAY:
Chumbe Island Coral Park
Eco-bungalows, Afro-Indian cuisine,
and snorkeling galore. Rooms from
$260 per person per night, including
all meals, activities, and the boat ride to
and from Zanzibar.
www.chumbeisland.com
26 Sport
FOOTBALL
Prince William tries out

football diplomacy in China
BRITAINS Prince William indulged in a
bit of sports diplomacy in China yesterday by striding onto the football pitch at
a Shanghai school.
Wearing a dark blue suit, he stopped
a stray ball and tapped it twice with his
black shoe before giving it a confident
kick on the artificial turf.
His trip to China, making him the
highest-profile royal visitor since Queen
Elizabeth II in 1986, has been laden
with symbolism as Britain attempts to
improve top-level diplomatic relations
with Beijing.
On March 2, William reached out to
Chinas top leader, President Xi Jinping,
telling him, I also gather youre quite a
football fan.
State media have called Xi an avid
fan and the leader last year recommended that all Chinese children learn the
game, state media reported.
William a supporter of relegationthreatened Aston Villa chatted with
students taking part in the football
clinic at Nanyang secondary school, part
football
of a program run by the British Council

and the Premier League.
Elementary school student Li Ziyu,
11, exchanged a high five with William
as he told him about his enthusiasm for
the Beautiful Game.
I have played since I was small, he
said afterward.
Chinas national team has historically underperformed, and last week
Beijing unveiled a government initiative
to improve its poor showings, in part by
fostering young talent.
While the domestic football league
offers foreign players and coaches lucrative contracts, the national side remains
in a lowly 82nd place, tied with Guatemala, in FIFAs latest global rankings.
The game is evolving here, said
Paul Hughes, head coach for the global
program Premier Skills, which ran the
school event.
Sometimes its about enhancing the
game from the bottom. With that, more
children are going to get the opportunity to participate. AFP
Kyi Lin displays his man of the match award in Taunggyi on March 1. Photo: Supplied Yangon United
Britains Prince William meets students during his visit to a Premier League
football training camp in Shanghai, China, on March 3. Photo: AFP/Johannes Eisele
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Aussie rugby star in 49ers deal

FORMER Australian Rugby League
star Jarryd Hayne announced yesterday he has secured a deal to play
American football with the San Francisco 49ers.
Hayne, who has long held a dream
to play in the National Football League,
played 176 games for the Parramatta
Eels in Sydney, scoring 103 tries, before
announcing an unprecedented code
swap late last year.
He said he had agreed to a rookie
contract with the 49ers, which guarantees him a spot at the club for 15 to 20
weeks.
But the 27-year-old will need to further impress in the lead-up to the next
NFL season, when the 49ers cut their

roster to 53 players in August.
Hayne had attracted interest from
two other NFL clubs, the Detroit Lions
and Seattle Seahawks, but said he preferred the 49ers because their new head
coach Jim Tomsula had a good knowledge of rugby.
For me this is a small step in the
right direction, he said. The hard stuff
starts now. Mentally Im ready for anything. Im going to do what it takes.
As well as being a star performer for
Parramatta, Hayne also played 20 State
of Origin matches for New South Wales
and won 12 caps with the Kangaroos,
the national team. AFP
Yangon United maintains

lead in MNL rankings
Kyaw Zin Hlaing
kyawzinhlaing.mcm@gmail.com
ANGON United continues to lead the Myanmar National League

rankings with 24 points
after beating KBZ FC 3-1
at KBZ Stadium in Taunggyi, Shan
State, on March 1.
Striker Kyi Lin scored for Yangon
United in the 32nd and 65th minutes,
with the teams other goal coming
compliments of striker Kyaw Ko Ko
at minute 62.
KBZ FCs sole point was kicked by
Baka Arif in the 47th minute.
Kyi Lin, who was named man

of the match, said that he was very
happy to score goals and help the
team win.
I also want to give special thanks
to my teammates and our fans for
helping me become man of the
match, he said.
Yangon United, ranked No 1 at
the start of the year, has won all
eight of its matches so far in the
2015 MNL season, with goals coming from strikers Cezar, Kyaw Ko Ko
and Kyi Lin.
Ayeyarwady United, who last
weekend beat current MNL champions Yadanabon FC 2-1, is ranked
second with 19 points.

Also on Week 8, Zwekapin FC upended Nay Pyi Taw 1-0; Chin United
outclassed Rakhine United 2-0; and
Magwe FC wiped the floor with
Zayyarshwemyay 6-2, while Manaw
Myay FC and Hantharwady United
closed with a 1-1 draw.
Week 9 matches will be held in
Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Pathein
from March 6 to 8. Fixtures include
Yangon United vs Zayyarshwemyay
FC, Zwekpin FC vs Yadanabon FC,
Ayeyarwady United vs KBZ FC,
Manaw Myay FC vs Magwe FC, Nay
Pyi Taw FC vs Chin United, and Hantharwady United vs Rakhine United.
football
Sunderland suspend Johnson after

arrest over sex allegation
SUNDERLAND suspended England
winger Adam Johnson on March 2 after
he was arrested on suspicion of having
sex with an underage girl.
Johnson was held in custody after
his arrest and, with police saying he was
helping them with their enquiries, the
27-year-old was suspended by the Premier League club pending the outcome
of the investigation.
A 27-year-old man was arrested earlier today on suspicion of sexual activity
with a girl under 16, a Durham police
statement said.
According to several newspapers,
Johnson had sex with a 15-year-old
and was arrested at his mansion on the

morning of March 2.
Three unmarked cars, a police van,
plainclothes officers and crime scene investigators were reported to have been
at the players home.
Johnson was due to travel with the
rest of the Sunderland squad to Hull for
yesterdays league match.
But the clubs statement read, Sunderland AFC has confirmed that Adam
Johnson has been suspended from the
club, pending the outcome of a police
investigation. No further comment will
be made at the present time.
Later on March 2, reporters were
told that Johnson had been bailed and

was no longer at Peterlee police station.
Johnson, who has won 12 caps for
England, started his career at Middlesbrough before joining Manchester City.
He moved to Sunderland for US$15
million in 2012.
Johnson has struggled to reproduce
his best form on a sustained basis with
the Black Cats.
However, he has endeared himself
to Sunderland fans with goals in each
of the clubs three victories at hated local rivals Newcastle in as many seasons,
including a late winner at St James Park
on December 21 last year. AFP
Sport
28 THE MYANMAR TIMES march 4, 2015
SPORT EDITOR: Douglas Long | dlong125@gmail.com
Yangon United extend

rankings lead with win
SPORT 26
FOOTBALL
Rooney happy with role as

United take on Magpies
ANCHESTER United
skipper Wayne Rooney has insisted that
the trip to Newcastle
today signals the start
of a period that could define their
season.
The Red Devils are travelling to
St James Park hoping to hang on
to their place in the top four as they
push for a return to the Champions
League later this year.
After visiting the northeast, Louis
Van Gaals team plays Arsenal in the
FA Cup quarter-final, before league
matches against Tottenham and Liverpool two clubs also chasing a topfour berth.
Its the start of a big three weeks
for us, Rooney said. We have done
OK in the big games this year. We
could do better, but it is exciting for
us with these big games that you
want to be involved in.
We cant look past Wednesday.
Newcastle away is always a tough
game and we have to try to make
sure we come away from there with
three points.
Much has been made of how
Rooney has been used by Van Gaal
this season. The Dutch coach has
often opted to use the 29-year-old in
midfield instead of his usual position
as a centre-forward.
Rooney played in attack on February 28 and rewarded his managers
decision with both goals in a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sunderland.
The double took Rooneys tally to
11 for the season and moved him one
goal ahead of fellow striker Robin
van Persie.
The England international, however, says he is happy to play in either
role. Everyone knows Ive played
midfield for the majority of the season but my record shows that I score
goals, so Im not worried about that
at all, said Rooney.
I was pleased the manager
Manchester Uniteds English striker Wayne Rooney (centre) celebrates scoring a penalty during the English Premier
League football match against Sunderland at Old Trafford in Manchester on February 28. Photo: AFP/Paul Ellis
played me up front and am delighted

to get the two goals, but the victory
was the main thing because after last
week it was important we bounced
back.
Where I play is down to the manager. Its his decision where he sees
me playing and I respect wherever
he wants to play me. Ive played up
front throughout my career so, obviously, I know how to play up front.
So Im ready to play there if and
when he wants me to do it.
United will again be without the
injured Van Persie for the match
against Newcastle but Michael Carrick could start after returning from
his long-term absence to take a place
on the bench on February 28.

Van Gaal must also decide whether to start Adnan Januzaj after his
impressive display when he came
on in place of the ineffective Angel
Di Maria for the second half against
Sunderland.
Mid-table Newcastle hope to record back-to-back victories after
their February 28 1-0 win over Aston
Villa all but secured another season of Premier League football on
Tyneside.
Midfielder Jack Colback serves
the second of a two-match ban after reaching 10 bookings. Massadio
Haidara, the defender carried off
with a knee problem at the weekend,
hopes to be available for selection.

Top scorer Papiss Cisse secured
the win over Villa with his 11th goal
of the season, and the Senegal international is confident Newcastle can
improve their unimpressive home
record against United.
Theyve beaten the Old Trafford
club just once in the last 11 visits, and
Cisse said, The Villa win was an important victory, and sets us up nicely
for Manchester United.
Its a game we need to be ready
for. Every player in the squad is up
for this game and its just been a matter of getting as much rest as possible since the weekend to be at our
best on Wednesday. AFP
olympics
Fukushima
pitches for
baseball
in 2020
FUKUSHIMA, stricken by one of the
worlds worst nuclear disasters in 2011,
wants to host baseball and softball
games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
and hopes to convince athletes to eat
the local food.
The sports were dropped from the
Olympic program after 2008 but are
tipped to be voted back in by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
next year, given their popularity in
Japan.
If baseball and softball return
to the Olympics, and preliminary
games are played outside Tokyo, then
we hope to be able to stage games,
said Fukushima city official Hiroaki
Kuwajima.
We are still in the process of recovery from the disaster and it would be
a dream to have world-class athletes
play here.
The official, from the citys planning management division, claimed
that the area has been the victim of
what he described as harmful rumours over the triple meltdown at a
nuclear plant triggered by the deadly
tsunami in March 2011.
Fukushima has suffered a lot
of financial damage caused by misinformation, he said. We would
like to be able to sweep away those
harmful rumours. Fukushima has
venues capable of hosting these
games.
Fukushima prefecture, situated
some 240 kilometres (150 miles)
north of Tokyo, is also keen on holding Olympic training camps and
wants overseas athletes and fans to
eat locally produced food, despite
concerns over radiation levels. Fukushima city is just 60 kilometres away
from the crippled nuclear reactors.
Fukushimas produce is safe and
will be safe, said Kuwajima. Of
course we would like athletes and visitors from overseas to eat our food.
AFP

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Heartbeat of the nation

Test ISSUE 2 | Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

Tempers fray at Letpadan as students defy authorities

A KACHIN activist for gender equality

Govt, NLD criticised after talks

THE MYANMAR TIMES March 4, 2015

Activists in Yangon, Mandalay

criticising the authorities for stopping student marchers from setting

Activists rally beside Mandalays moat yesterday. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

students who are marching to Yangon

MANDALAY students and monks

The government has agreed to

They need to stop.

In Letpadan, leaders of the townships Sangha association arrived

News editor: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

Lawyer argues no intent in Buddha bar trial

POLITICIANS have urged President

pleaded not guilty but been denied bail

cause offence when the image was

Thway said outside court.

President, Daw Suu under

in the border region of Kokang that

expect they will meet again.

Responding to criticism of the

UNITED Nations agencies have called

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

THE MYANMAR TIMES March 4, 2015

Revenue, water leaking out

YANGONS water woes are leaving

al procedures must be implemented

city still lacks any sort of mapping of

Yangons water woes

Water meter unreadable 68%

Water meter unreadable 18%

Townships water distribution leaves much to be desired

Daw Phyu Phyu Lwin, 55, Thaketa township

Koh Tao defence Teachers tapped to conduct

A MYANMAR team investigating the

the investigation team and director of

VOTER education will begin after

proceeding throughout the country,

THE MYANMAR TIMES March 4, 2015

LOW-LEVEL officials are demanding

the bribe or getting a CSC.

Amount officials are charging for a

I have to work every day just to

Mogok protesters stand firm

What are you doing, parliament?

MYANMAR is at boiling point. In the

It is clear that the

of amending the constitution, which

The 2008 constitution was drafted

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES March 3, 2015

The Circular Train is moving

Aung Kyaw Nyunt

ABOUT half of the rail stations on

tickets the old way, said U Tint Wai.

increasingly crowded streets results in passengers taking the train

If its okay, then we

time, he said. We dont do this on

BUSINESS editor: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com