HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

500
Ks.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM

DAILY EDITION

ISSUE 57 | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015

NEWS 3

IN PICTURES

PHOTO: AFP

Rescued boat docks in

northern Rakhine State
More than 700 trafficking victims
rescued off the coast of Ayeyarwady
Region on May 30 were yesterday
allowed to disembark in Rakhine
State, the government has confirmed.
NEWS 4

Govt distances itself from

former political adviser
National womens
netball team captain
Kyaw Khin Sandar
shoots for a net
against Thailand at
the 28th Southeast
Asian Games in
Singapore yesterday.
Myanmar lost the
preliminary-round
match 71-26. The
team comprises
former basketballers
who were retrained
to compete in
netball at this years
Games, which
officially begin
with the opening
ceremony on June 5.
FULL COVERAGE SPORT 26

The government has issued a

statement declaring it no longer has
any connection with U Nay Zin Latt,
a former political adviser to President
U Thein Sein who resigned in April to
found a new political party.

BUSINESS 8

Entrance of foreign rivals

troubles local banks
Recently licensed foreign banks will
only be allowed to lend to foreign
companies, but even this appears to
have unsettled local rivals.
BUSINESS 9

Shangri-La launches office

and shopping centre
Businesspeople will no longer have
to sit in the Shangri-Las lobby to use
the internet as work on its new Sule
Square project located on the same
block as the hotel is under way.

Tatmadaw pushes out media

Restrictions on journalists watching parliament sessions in person were introduced at the request of a senior
military MP who was upset at alleged breaches of journalism ethics, Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann has revealed. NEWS 3

2 News

Judge
rejects
bail for
students
STUDENTS detained following
the violent police crackdown on
protesters at Letpadan in March
were denied bail on June 2. According to defence lawyers, the
judge at Tharyarwady Township
Court said the documents produced in support of the application for bail were insufficient.
The 13 distance-learning students were among those marching on Yangon in protest against
the National Education Law.
On March 10, police launched
a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, arresting more than
100 people. It promised to free
the real students among the
demonstrators without charge,
but decided that distance education students did not qualify for
release.
Defence lawyer U Robert San
Aung told The Myanmar Times
the judge had refused bail in
respect of the alleged offences
under section 505(b) of the penal
code.
His reason was that there
was no recommendation letter from the professors of their
universities that they should be
released in order to take their exams, he said.
At the hearing, the fourth
since the arrests, defence lawyers
U Aung Thein and U Robert San
Aung submitted photographs
showing police violence against
the student. The court accepted
the photographs as evidence.
The prosecution said the
photos could have been Photoshopped. But everybody knows
these pictures are real, U Robert
San Aung said after the hearing.
He said Police Captain Phone
Myint, a witness for the prosecution, had told the court that the
police had not hit the students,
but just aimed at them.
The police captain lied to the
court and the world. Everybody
knows the police beat the student
protesters, whose injuries are also
evidence, said the lawyer.
The hearing took place amid
tightened security, behind high
barbed wire fences.
A total of 81 people, including
12 released on bail, have been
charged with incitement to riot,
defamation and obstructing a
police officer. The next hearing
will be on June 9.
The police crackdown and arrests came following months of
confrontation and protest over
the National Education Law,
which was approved in September 2014. Ye Mon

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

LAW KHEE LAR, KAYIN STATE

Kachin Independence Organisation joint chair Lieutenant General NBan La speaks at an ethnic leaders conference in Law Khee Lar yesterday. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

Divisions surface over ceasefire

accord at ethnic leaders summit
Senior Kachin Independence Organisation official threatens to walk away from nationwide ceasefire draft

WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com

DIVISIONS surfaced yesterday at a

summit of leaders of armed ethnic
groups when a senior figure in the
Kachin Independence Organisation
(KIO) insisted that the nationwide
ceasefire accord under discussion
must include the three factions
fighting government forces in the
Kokang region.
Speaking on the second day of
talks in the Kayin State border town
of Law Khee Lar, Lieutenant General
NBan La, KIO joint chair, said the
government should not treat the Kokang factions, which include ethnic
Chinese rebels, as a foreign invasion
army.
I called on the leaders of ethnic
armed groups to maintain a policy of
unity which will not leave the Kokang
and Taang armed groups out of the

nationwide ceasefire accord, he told

reporters.
I am not a fool. If the accord is not
worth signing then I wont, he said.
The inclusiveness of the nationwide accord had been expected to
dominate the five-day summit, which
began on June 2. The talks were called
to discuss the draft agreement signed
on March 31 between the government
and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), representing 16
ethnic factions, after some 18 months
of negotiations.
Ethnic negotiators said the signing
was in principle, and the document
would need final approval from their
leaders.
On the opening day of the talks held
on the Myanmar-Thailand border, Saw
Mutu Say Poe, Karen National Union
chair and host, urged participants
to approve the draft agreement and
move on to the next stage of political
dialogue. Senior envoys from China
and the United Nations also called for
an early signing of the accord.
The government wants a ceasefire deal to exclude the three armed

groups it has been fighting in Shan

States Kokang border area since early February. But it has offered a twostep process whereby it would first
sign with about a dozen other groups
represented by the NCCT and then
hold separate talks with the Kokangbased Myanmar National Democratic
Alliance Army and its two allies, the
Taang National Liberation Army and
the Arakan Army.
Although the KIO leader took a
hard line against the government
position, General Gun Maw, deputy
commander of the KIOs military
wing, is seen by some observers as
more supportive of the ceasefire process. He declined to comment to reporters yesterday, saying it was too
early.
Naing Han Thar, chair of the New
Mon State Party and leader of the
NCCT, told The Myanmar Times that
the government was using deceit to
spread disunity.
If we leave those three groups behind, then the government will press
its attacks against them. Once they are
destroyed we will be weaker because

they are part of our community, our

force. And then we will be the next
target, he said.
U Than Khae, chair of the All Burma Students Democratic Front, said
the goal should be an all-inclusive
ceasefire agreement and solutions
for groups that are still fighting.
He called on the government to
stop its military operations to build
trust and allow the three factions
fighting in Kokang to join the political
dialogue.
Leaders of the three allied groups
fighting in Kokang are not attending the summit but have sent liaison
officers who reiterated their groups
readiness to quit the NCCT. Naing Han
Thar said that would only happen if
they were shut out of the accord.
Delegates spent the first day of
the summit discussing the NCA text,
which runs to about 20 pages, but
did not reach the end of the document. According to the agenda, participants yesterday were to complete
discussion of the text and move on to
a proposed framework for political
dialogue.

www.mmtimes.com

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

Boat lands in Rakhine as govt

says repatriation to begin June 7
LAIGNEE BARRON KAYLEIGH LONG
MORE than 700 people on an abandoned human trafficking vessel
were finally allowed to disembark in
northern Rakhine State yesterday, six
days after the Myanmar navy intercepted their vessel, sources told The
Myanmar Times.
The 727 people onboard had been
held at sea since March when they
were coerced, enticed or kidnapped
onto three Malaysia-bound converted fishing trawlers, according to government statements.
At least another 50 are thought to
have died during the voyage, which
saw them first head for the Andaman
Sea and then turn back to international waters off Myanmars coast,
where they were forced into the hull
of a single boat.
They were intercepted by the Myanmar navy on May 29 off the southern coast of the Ayeyarwady delta
and then towed to northern Rakhine
State.
After the boat landed yesterday
morning in Maungdaw township,
close to Myanmars border with
Bangladesh, the passengers were
separated into three groups. Men
were divided into one group, while
women and children were taken in
a separate group to a loacation near
Taung Pyo Let Waa village where
200 people intercepted a week
earlier are being provided shelter
while repatriation arrangements
are made. A larger group from the
boat that landed today around
400 was taken to Kanyin Chaung,
said a source from Maungdaw township, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Humanitarian relief teams had
been unable to access the trafficking victims, despite assurances at an
emergency meeting held in Bangkok
last week that United Nations agencies would be allowed to provide aid
to those rescued. Aid workers said
yesterday they had been told they
would be granted access to all three
of the groups.
Government officials would not
comment yesterday on why the UN
was being frozen out of the process.
The government confirmed in a
statement last night that the boat

A Myanmar officer takes a photograph of a migrant, who was found at sea on a boat, at a temporary shelter near
Kanyin Chaung jetty in Maungdaw township, northern Rakhine State, yesterday. Photo: AFP

had landed, and said those rescued

will be provided temporary relief
and shelter.
To smoothly send the boat people to their original destinations,
women and children were taken to a
temporary shelter in Taung Pyo city
and the rest of the people were taken
to the other side of Taung Pyo city,
about 27 miles from the Bangladesh
border, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
No mention was made of the third
group allegedly taken to Kanyin
Chaung.
The Foreign Ministry statement
said Minister for Foreign Affairs U
Wunna Maung Lwin met Bangladeshs ambassador to Myanmar in
Nay Pyi Taw yesterday to discuss an
immediate repatriation and screening approval process.
The ambassador agreed for repatriations to commence on June 7, according to the statement.
Over the last month, more than
4000 desperate, impoverished and
often badly malnourished migrants
and asylum seekers have been rescued or fled human smugglers boats
that have been set adrift by traffickers, after normal trafficking routes
through Thailand were closed down.
At least 2000 are estimated to still
be stranded on open sea, with half

in the Bay of Bengal and half in the

Andaman Sea, according to Thomas
Vargas, the UN Refugee Agency representative in Indonesia.
But he said the figure was an estimate at best. We do not have precise locations, he added.

We want to make
sure that any
innocent people on
the boat get proper
treatment.
Anne Richard
US assistant secretary of state

During a press conference yesterday, US assistant secretary of state

for population, refugees and migration Anne Richard said the US was
watching very closely how Myanmar handles those rescued.
[W]e want to make sure that any
of the innocent people on the boat
get proper treatment, she said.
We are trying to convince, cajole,
and pressure, using all of our tools to

encourage countries to do the right

thing.
Following US President Barack
Obamas call on June 1 for Myanmar
to end discrimination against the Rohingya the ethnic identity used by
the majority of Rakhine States Muslims Ms Richard yesterday called
for them to be granted citizenship.
[T]hey need to have identity
cards ... that make clear that they
then have the freedom that everybody in Burma should enjoy, freedom of movement, freedom to get
health care, freedom of expression,
and [freedom] to not live in fear, she
said.
The Rakhine [State] Buddhists
are also living in a very fearful
situation They are not really
thriving in their lives because of
the atmosphere, she said. Both
communities could benefit if
[the government] take[s] steps
such as making clear that everyone
who is living there, who has been
born there, whose grandparents
were born there are deserving of
citizenship.
The Myanmar government refuses to recognise the term Rohingya, insisting that the majority of
Muslims in Rakhine State instead
be called Bengalis.
Translation by Zaw Win Than

News 3

Speaker
writes to UN
chief over
Rakhine
GOVERNMENT officials and political
leaders have hit back at international
criticism targeted at Myanmars handling of unrest in Rakhine State.
Parliamentary speaker Thura U
Shwe Mann yesterday revealed he had
sent a letter to UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon urging him to rethink
his views on Rakhine State, where the
government has been accused of persecuting the Muslim community.
Last month, the UN chief urged
Southeast Asian nations to address
the problems compelling people to
take rickety and perilous sea voyages
that have resulted in the deaths of
hundreds this year alone. Speaking
in Vietnam, Mr Ban also called on the
Myanmar government to resolve the
fragile tensions in Rakhine State,
which he said could jeopardise the nations democratic reform process if not
addressed.
Thura U Shwe Mann suggested
that such censure could damage the
country.
The international community
does not focus objectively on tackling
the issues leading toward global security and stability, including in Myanmar. They need to approach [these
problems] without bias, said the
speaker, who has recently been chosen
to lead the ruling Union Solidarity and
Development party into the coming
elections.
He added that the UN should uphold its own dignity by respecting
Myanmars sovereignty and national
identity.
Meanwhile, Director for the Presidents Office U Zaw Htay yesterday
took to Facebook to pen his own
defence.
Responding to a Channel News
Asia article about the opposition
partys cautious statements on the
migration crisis, U Zaw Htay said the
country doesnt have the race named
Rohingya, and cant accept them.
However, he added the government doesnt refuse citizenship
to anyone who can meet certain
stipulations.
If they want to become a citizen,
they shall be verified by the 1982 citizenship law. If not, they are deemed to
be an [internally displaced person] or
illegal migrant, he said.
He encouraged MPs who disagree with his assessment or with the
citizenship law to raise the issue in
parliament. Htoo Thant, translation
by Thiri Min Htun

Speaker says military requested parliament media restrictions

HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
A BAN on the media directly watching
and filming parliamentary proceedings was introduced at the request of
a senior military MP, Speaker Thura
U Shwe Mann told the Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw yesterday.
He said the request to restrict the
media in both houses and the joint
chamber was made by Brigadier General Tint San following reporting that
went beyond ethics. The report in
question involved two officers who
pressed the voting buttons of their
absent colleagues.
Thura U Shwe Mann said the
military MP had requested a suitable presentation for parliament and
its members, so as Speaker he had
decided to restrict the media from
entering the viewing room used by
interpreters.
The ban, first imposed on
the joint chamber last week, has

triggered a media furore and follows

official indignation of the publication
of pictures showing a military representative pressing the voting button
of someone else and others showing
MPs dozing.
Thura U Shwe Mann told parliament that Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Deputy Speaker U Nanda Kyaw Swar met
military representatives to discuss an
article, headlined Persons with extra
hands in hluttaw and suspect vote results, which was published by Global
Journal on April 10.
The brigadier general replied with
a letter explaining that on the day of
the vote Brigadier General Maung
Maung and Lieutenant Colonel Myo
Htet Win were at a meeting of the
Joint Bill Committee, so Brigadier
General Aung Kyaw and Lieutenant
Colonel Myo Myint Oo voted on their
behalf.
They will be careful not to allow
such a case to happen in the future.
Military representatives did it with

MPs are yesterday shown a still image of the article in Global World journal that
prompted complaints from the military. Photo: Supplied

an honest mind. And media should be

supervised not to do actions that are
beyond media ethics, the letter said.

Thura U Shwe Mann said that

he had allowed the media to watch
hluttaw debates directly because he

believed that reporters wanted to collect news about the hluttaws activities. The viewing room, he said, was a
booth for interpreters and not originally intended for reporters.
The Speaker said that before the
article and image of the voting incident he had also seen other unsuitable images of some MPs. He did not
say who they were.
However, U Hla Swe, a Union Solidarity and Development Party MP,
who represents Magwe Region in the
Amyotha Hluttaw, said earlier that he
believed the decision was prompted
by embarrassing photos of MPs being
published in the media, including one
of opposition leader Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi asleep.
The restriction on media is made
for security reasons also, the Speaker
said, without elaborating. He said
parliament would arrange for a suitable area for the media to report from
and conduct interviews.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

4 News
Chief Executive Officer
Tony Child
tonychild.mcm@gmail.com
Editorial Director U Thiha Saw
editorial.director.mcm@gmail.com
Deputy Chief Operating Officer Tin Moe Aung
tinmoeaung.mcm@gmail.com
EDITORIAL
Editor MTE Thomas Kean
tdkean@gmail.com
Editor MTM Sann Oo
sannoo@gmail.com
Chief of Staff Zaw Win Than
zawwinthan@gmail.com
Editor Special Publications Myo Lwin
myolwin286@gmail.com
Editor-at-Large Douglas Long
dlong125@gmail.com
News Editor MTE Guy Dinmore
guydinmore@gmail.com
Business Editor MTE Jeremy Mullins
jeremymullins7@gmail.com
World Editor MTE Fiona MacGregor,
Kayleigh Long
The Pulse Editor MTE Charlotte Rose
charlottelola.rose@gmail.com
Sport Editor MTE Matt Roebuck
matt.d.roebuck@googlemail.com
Special Publications Editor MTE Wade Guyitt
wadeguyitt@gmail.com
Regional Affairs Correspondent Roger Mitton
rogermitton@gmail.com
Sub-Editors Peter Swarbrick, Laignee Barron
Chief Sub Editor MTM Aye Sapay Phyu
Business & Property Editor MTM
Tin Moe Aung
tinmoeaung.mcm@gmail.com
Timeout Editor MTM Moh Moh Thaw
mohthaw@gmail.com
MCM BUREAUS
News Editors (Mandalay)
Khin Su Wai, Phyo Wai Kyaw
Nay Pyi Taw Bureau Chief Hsu Hlaing Htun
hsuhlainghtun.mcm@gmail.com
DIGITAL/ONLINE
Online Editors Eli Meixler, Thet Hlaing
elimeixler@gmail.com, thet202@gmail.com
PHOTOGRAPHICS
Director Kaung Htet
Photographers
Aung Htay Hlaing, Thiri, Zarni Phyo
PRODUCTION
zarnicj@gmail.com
Art Director Tin Zaw Htway
Production Manager Zarni
MCM PRINTING
Printing Director Han Tun
Factory Administrator Aung Kyaw Oo (3)
Factory Foreman Tin Win
SALES & MARKETING
ads.myanmartimes@gmail.com
Deputy National Sales Directors
Chan Tha Oo, Nay Myo Oo,
Nandar Khine, Nyi Nyi Tun
Classifieds Manager Khin Mon Mon Yi
classified.mcm@gmail.com
ADMIN, FINANCE & SYSTEMS
Chief Financial Officer Mon Mon Tha Saing
monmonthasaing@gmail.com
Deputy HR Director Khine Su Yin
khinesu1988@gmail.com
Director of IT/Systems Kyaw Zay Yar Lin
kyawzayarlin@gmail.com
Publisher U Thiha (Thiha Saw), 01021
Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.
CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION
Yangon - subscribe.mt@gmail.com
Mandalay - mdydistribution.mcm@gmail.com
Nay Pyi Taw - nptdistribution.mcm@gmail.com
ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES
Telephone: (01) 253 642, 392 928
Facsimile: (01) 254 158
The Myanmar Times is owned by Myanmar
Consolidated Media Ltd and printed by
Myanmar Times Press (00876) with approval from MCM Ltd and by Shwe Myanmar
(P/00302) with approval from MCM Ltd. The
title The Myanmar Times, in either English or
Myanmar languages, its associated logos or
devices and the contents of this publication
may not be reproduced in whole or in part
without the written consent of the Managing
Director of Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

www.mmtimes.com
Head Office: 379/383 Bo Aung Kyaw Street,
Kyauktada Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
Telephone: (01) 253 642, 253 651, 392808
Facsimile: (01) 254 158, 392 928
Mandalay Bureau: No. 20, 71st Street,
Between 28th street and 29th Street,
Chan Aye Thar San Township.
Tel: (02) 24450, 24460, 65391. Fax: (02) 74585.
Email: mdybranch@myanmartimes.com.mm
Nay Pyi Taw Bureau: No (15/496) Yaza Htarni
Road, Paung Laung (2)Q, Pyinmana.
Tel: (067) 25982, 25983, 25309, 21426
Email: capitalbureau@myanmartimes.com.mm

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

Government distances itself

from former political adviser
U Nay Zin Latt waits on Union Election Commission for approval to register the National Development Party

EI EI TOE LWIN

LUN MIN MANG

THE government has moved to distance itself from a former presidential adviser who now heads a newly
formed political party, saying he is
neither associated with the president nor the Union government.
U Nay Zin Latt was appointed
as a political adviser to President U
Thein Sein in 2011. He was allowed
to resign from the position on April
30, after it emerged he had taken on
a role as patron of a group calling itself the National Party.
Since his resignation, U Nay Zin
Latt has been appointed chair of the
party, which now calls itself the National Development Party.
The government issued the
strongly worded statement on June
2.
U Nay Zin Latt told The Myanmar
Times yesterday that he and five or
six others leading the party had no
plans to stand for election this year,
but other members would contest
about 100 seats in the Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw.
We are not interested in power
politics. We are interested in academic politics, he said.
There is no understanding between political units in our country.
Because of this lack of mutual understanding no trust has been built.
The National Development Party
has not yet been given permission
by the Union Election Commission,
but did submit its application before
the April 30 deadline to contest this
years election.
The party is still under investigation to be granted the right to register
as a political party, UEC deputy director general U Hla Maung Cho said.
The initial application used the
name National Party, but U Hla
Maung Cho said it was changed at
the commissions request because it
was too general.
While U Nay Zin Latt was
not included in the initial list of
party founders submitted to the
commission, U Hla Maung Cho said

U Nay Zin Latt (upper right) attends a meeting of National Development Party members on May 21. Photo: Supplied

it was not a problem that the former

presidential adviser had later become the partys chair.
Theres no rule against it. You
just need 15 members to form a party. They can then select whoever they
like as the party leader, he said.
News of the partys formation
prompted speculation that it could
be linked to the president and the
Union Solidarity and Development
Party, as many of its members are
close to both the government and
the USDP.
Critics suggested the formation
of the party could be an effort by
the government to win votes in this
years election from those who like
neither the USDP nor Daw Aung
San Suu Kyis National League for
Democracy.
They were not dissuaded by
the June 2 statement, saying that
publishing the notice in state

newspapers would only help to promote the party.

I dont think that, ordinarily, this
issue would be important enough for

The party is still

under investigation
to be granted the
right to register as a
political party.
U Hla Maung Cho
Union Election Commission

the government to issue a statement

like this, political commentator U
Yan Myo Thein told The Myanmar

Times yesterday.
I think the party is a proxy party
for the government and the statement is a way to promote the partys
name.
However, USDP spokesperson
U Thein Swe denied any links to or
cooperation with those who have set
up the National Development Party.
The USDP has not founded a
new party or a proxy party, he said.
U Nay Zin Latt said his party
would cooperate with anyone who
shared the partys political outlook,
but he ruled out any existing links to
other groups including the USDP or
the NLD.
He said the partys members were
mostly his former students.
For the past three years, I have
led some political management
classes. Students from the classes
wanted to establish a political party
and they wanted me to be in it.

Six activists jailed for illegal protest

IN BRIEF

KYAW PHONE KYAW

k.phonekyaw@gmail.com

Freedom group claims verdict in

NLD writers case was biased

A COURT in Yangons Shwe Pyi Thar

township yesterday sentenced four
men and two women to a month in
prison for holding an unlawful protest outside the court over an earlier
trial of a fellow political activist.
The earlier trial involved Ko Kyaw
Hein, who was jailed last year for
holding an unlawful protest against
the refusal by local authorities to
allow Shwe Nya War Sayadaw, an
outspoken monk, to give a public
sermon.
Relatives of the six defendants,
who included a pregnant woman,
yesterday denied the accused had
held an unlawful protest.
They were not protesting. But
my son, Thu Zaw Kyi Win, was chatting with Shwe Nya War Sayadaw
and someone took a picture that
day. I think they dont like sayadaws
who give sermons on politics so they
charged my son and his colleagues,

Ko Thu Zaw Kyi Win takes part in a

protest earlier this year. Photo: Kyaw
Phone Kyaw

said Ko Thu Zaw Kyi Wins mother,

Daw Khin Kyi.

Ma Ni Lar, wife of Ko Thu Zaw

Kyi Win, said the accused had not
been holding a protest but were
simply shouting out their disagreement at the jailing last year of Ko
Kyaw Hein, who spent 23 days in
prison.
The chief police officer of the
township, U Thein Win, who brought
the charges, said they had shouted
and made gestures that constituted
a protest while returning home from
the court.
The six were charged on July 17
last year, a day after Ko Kyaw Hein
was released. Their trial took 20
hearings and lasted 10 months.
People present said the activists
shouted on leaving court yesterday
that they were not common criminals or drug dealers but just wanted
Shwe Nya War Sayadaw to be able to
preach.
Ko Thu Zaw Kyi Win, one of the
six, has also been charged with taking part in a protest by garment factory workers.

PEN Myanmar has condemned the

two-year prison term handed down
to National League for Democracy official U Htin Lin Oo for insulting religion,
saying the trial highlighted the judiciarys lack of independence.
The NGO, which advocates for freedom of expression, said the judge had
bowed to pressure from both the government and the complainants to find
U Htin Lin Oo guilty.
The writer and former NLD information officer was charged after giving
a literary talk last year.
The complainant side came in a
group and put pressure on the judge,
PEN Myanmar said in a statement.
U Htin Lin Oo was sentenced to two
years imprisonment with hard labour
on June 2 at Chaung-Oo Township
Court in Sagaing Region.
He was acquitted of a second charge
of deliberate intent to wound religious
feelings.
Thomas Kean

News 5

www.mmtimes.com

IN BRIEF
Myanmar hosts regional
forestry meetings

Myanmar hosted the ASEAN Social

Forestry Network (ASFN)s 6th Conference and 9th Annual Meeting on June
2 and 3 at Inle Lake in southern Shan
States Nyaungshwe township.
U Thaung Naing Oo, director of the
Forest Research Division of Department of Forestry, said discussions
focused on the introduction of the
ASEAN Economic Community and its
impact on the flow of timber products
through the region. Delegates also
discussed how to create more benefits
for communities that rely on timber
products for income.
The two events were attended by
about 230 participants from the 10
ASEAN members, civil society organi-

sations, as well as private sector and

academic institutions.
Forestry experts in attendance
shared ideas and experiences on
agricultural crops policy, forestry
policy, community-based forest and
agro-forestry practice. Pyae Thet
Phyo, translation by Zar Zar Soe

Japan provides funding for

radar, weather stations

Three early-warning radar stations

are to be put in place to protect against
storm damage and natural disaster,
it was announced yesterday. The
Japanese government has provided
US$38.42 million to install the equipment, which can monitor weather conditions for 400 kilometres (248 miles)
and track the location, speed and

direction of storms and storm-tides.

The installation in Kyaukpyu, Rakhine State, will be completed in August
2015, followed by installations in Yangon city in July 2016 and Mandalays
Chan Mya Tharsi township in 2017, the
Ministry of Transport announced.
The Department of Meteorology and
Hydrology has opened 106 weather
stations, 72 hydrology stations, 33
agriculture and flight weather stations
and 14 earthquake stations to support
its daily forecasts and weather and
earthquake warnings.
By the end of 2016, with aid from
the Japanese government amounting
to $2.31 million, 30 automatic weather
observation systems will be installed
across the country. Shwegu Thitsar,
translation by Khant Lin Oo

Houses split
on interfaith
marriage bill
Amyotha Hluttaw reduces penalty for breaches
and trims list of religious activities that Buddhist
women cannot be stopped from undertaking

HTOO
THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

Emergency service officials and residents inspect the site of a landslide yesterday. Photo: Supplied

Four die in Mogok landslide

SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
FOUR people died in a landslide following heavy rain in the ruby mining
town of Mogok on June 2, police in the
area said. Another man was injured
in the slide, which destroyed several
houses in Mogoks Aung Theidi ward.
The heavy rain destroyed a brick
retaining wall behind the house in

which U Hla Thein and Daw Hla Win

Htay lived, the police said.
We still dont know the extent of
the losses. Three houses and the brick
wall were destroyed at 7am. We cremated the remains at 9pm. Other residents were forced to relocate, a police spokesperson told The Myanmar
Times yesterday.
The deceased were Daw Tin Shein,
75; Daw Htway Htway Thein, 40; Ma

Shoon Nanda Kyaw, 16; and Ma Zin

Phyu Phyu Soe, 10. Family member U
Kyaw Soe, 38, sustained serious injuries.
Nearby residents formed a rescue party to recover the bodies. Later
about 100 firefighters and police came
and carried the bodies to hospital. We
took charge of the cremation, said U
Win Oo, secretary of the local Myat
Saytanar social service organisation.
Translation by Khant Lin Oo

UPPER-HOUSE MPs have sent

back to the lower house a draft law
on interfaith marriage after softening some of its key provisions.
Though the remission of the
bill back to the house of parliament from which it emanated in
this case the Pyithu Hluttaw is a
regular feature of the reconciliation of draft legislation, particular
attention is being paid. The law in
question, the Buddhist Womens
Special Marriage Bill, is highly
controversial, being supported
by hard-line Buddhists who have
shown a capacity to influence government policy. It is opposed by
womens rights groups and much
of the international community.
The bill is the second of four
pieces of legislation designed to
impose conservative Buddhist
views on the role of religion in society. The bills are being promoted
by the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion to
become law. Critics say the organisation, better known by its acronym Ma Ba Tha, has an ultra-nationalist and anti-Muslim agenda.
U Thein Tun Oo of the Pyithu
Hluttaw Bill Committee said the
bill prepared by Pyithu Hluttaw
had been sent back by Amyotha
Hluttaw with 16 amendments.
He said the main changes concerned the bills section 22(d),
where the Pyithu Hluttaw had
approved the wording Myanmar
Buddhist women shall be allowed
to make religious donations, pay
homage to Buddha, recite sutras,
tell beads, listen to Dhamma talks,
practise meditation, make regular
pilgrimages to religious places,
keep the sabbath and study Buddhas scriptural references and devotional literature.

But Amyotha Hluttaw shortened that language to read, Myanmar Buddhist women shall be
allowed to perform three religious
practices: darna [donation], thila
[keeping the precepts] and bhawanar [meditation].
U Thein Tun Oo said it was important that all the religious activities be spelled out in full.
If the text were abbreviated to
just darna, thila and bhawanar,
the interfaith husband of a Buddhist woman would not be able to
understand the meaning of those
words. Amyotha Hluttaws should
be restored to the original wording
of Pyithu Hluttaw, said U Thein
Tun Oo.
The Amyotha Hluttaw has also
sought to reduce the punishment
for an interfaith husband who
destroys or disgraces places or
things that are worshipped by his
Buddhist wife with the intention
of insulting Buddhism, from three
years to two years imprisonment.
U Thein Tun Oo said the Pyithu
Hluttaw is likely to concur with
the Amyotha Hluttaws amendment. Other minor divergences are
expected to be agreed between the
two houses.
Disagreements that cannot be
resolved will go to a vote in the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a combined
session of the upper and lower
houses.
The interfaith marriage law
first unveiled by controversial
monk U Wirathu at a Buddhist
conference in Yangon in mid-2013.
It has been deeply controversial,
with human rights activists warning that the proposed law would
breach Myanmars international
treaty obligations.
In May 2014, almost 100 Myanmar civil society groups issued a
statement saying the law was designed to distract the public before
the 2015 election.
Leaders of the groups were labelled traitors and subsequently
received death threats.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

6 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

High dropout rate in

Mon State,
study finds
MAY THINZAR NAING
maythinzarnaing.mcm@gmail.com

Daw Than Than Aye submits an application to correct her biographical data at an election commission office in Yangons Thingangyun. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

Low-ranking electoral staff

lack knowledge, say CSOs
LUN MIN
MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com

CIVIL society organisations preparing to observe Novembers elections

say electoral workers themselves
will have to receive further training. They say lower-level staff of the
Union Electoral Commissions local
sub-commissions lack the required
knowledge of procedures and the
law.
U Min Thu Zin, a member of Civil
Political Rights Campaign Group
(CPRCG), said his organisation had
observed weaknesses among subcommission staff in Thongwa township, Yangon Region, where the
group has just completed a six-day
observation. Thongwa is one of the
14 Yangon Region townships where
voters lists are being displayed until
June 7.
In some villages like Aung Thar
Dan and Hmo Kone Thar, we found
that when some voters complained
of errors in the lists displayed, the
sub-commission personnel simply
corrected the errors without going
through the regulation amendment
process, he said, adding that his

group was now preparing a report

to the regional election sub-commission on its observations.
Though senior officials of the
UEC have built a positive relationship with CSOs and political parties
while drafting the codes of conduct
for observers and parties, lowerlevel officials may not be so familiar
with the rules, civil society groups
said.
Ko Nyi Nyi Aung of the Local Resource Centre told a workshop last
month that there had been reports
of civil society-led voter education
activities being banned by the local
authorities in rural areas.
However, commission member U
Win Kyi said in a workshop in Yangon last month that the commission
would soon start training sub-commission officials in the electoral laws
and rules.
We are still six months away
from the general election. We will
train them to be competent in knowledge of the electoral laws and rules,
he said.
The inexperience of some subcommission officials is particularly
worrying for organisations advocating the rights of people with
disabilities.
The UEC in Nay Pyi Taw is open
and welcomes us, but I couldnt say
the same about lower-level officials,

said U Nay Lin Soe, program director of Myanmar Independent Living

Initiative.
During the first display period,
when we were doing public advocacy,
most people including sub-commission officials and even family members of disabled people questioned
why we were doing it. We hope that
attitude will change before the election, he said.

14

Yangon Region townships in which

electoral rolls are now on public display

MILI and other CSOs advocating

for the rights of disabled people met
UEC officials last week to discuss
promoting the voting rights of disabled people.
Myanmar National Association
for the Blind [MNAB] and other
similar advocacy groups or CSOs for
blind people are to produce sample
ballot papers especially for blind
people. The UEC said it would use

such ballots in five places, including

Kyeemyindaing, Pyin Oo Lwin and
Monywa, said U Nay Lin Soe, adding
that the cost would be met from UEC
funding.
U Min Thu Zin said the subcommission in Thongwa had extended the display of voters lists
by two hours, from 9am to 6pm
instead of 4pm, in some areas in
response to complaints about low
levels of public interest.
Errors on the electoral rolls
are widespread, with thousands
of eligible voters being turned
away from polling stations in some
townships in 2010 and 2012.
As The Myanmar Times reported yesterday, one Yangon Region
Hluttaw representative for Thingangyun, U Kyaw, was not included on the list of voters, while even
a member of the election commission had been omitted, according
to officials.
Among those who came to check
their electoral enrolment information yesterday was Daw Than Than
Aye, a resident of Laydaungkan
ward in Thingangyun township.
She said ward sub-commission officials had helped her fill in the forms
to correct mistakes.
I found some errors in the names
and dates of birth of all three of our
family members, she said.

More than 30 to appear in Rakhine court

today on unlawful association charges
YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com
POLICE yesterday charged 32 people, including soldiers of the Arakan
Army (AA) and civilians, in Rakhine
State under the Unlawful Associations Act. The accused were arrested
last month by the Tatmadaw, in some
cases because their photographs appeared in the mobile phones of captured soldiers.
The charges were laid under sections 17 (1) and (2) of the colonialera law following a series of arrests
in Kyaukpyu, Minbya, Pauktaw,
Rathedaung, Sittwe, Mrauk-Oo and

Kyauktaw townships in Rakhine

State.
Police Major Khin Maung of
Kyauktaw township police told The
Myanmar Times yesterday that the
accused would appear in court tomorrow, adding, These arrests are
not related to the peace process and
cant affect the peace talks.
The Mrauk-Oo and Kyauktaw
Lawyers Associations have announced that they will act for the
defendants free of charge.
The Tatmadaw had originally
sought 63 people, but about 30 have
not been found.
Lawyer U Oo Tun Hla, representing

the 32 people charged, said yesterday

none of the civilians should have been
arrested.
They should not have been
charged under this act, he said,
adding that the offences carry a
possible sentence of eight years
imprisonment.
Rakhine State Chief Minister U
Maung Maung Ohn has also been
critical of the arrests, saying they created great fear among the public.
He has urged the military and the
police to make sure all arrests are in
line with the law.
Use of the Unlawful Associations
Act to prosecute those with links to

armed ethnic groups has declined

dramatically in recent years as a result of the peace process.
In 2013, Minister for the Presidents Office U Aung Min, who leads
the governments peace negotiating
team, helped secure the release of
Kachin man Bran Shawng, who had
been arrested in 2011 by the Tatmadaw for alleged links to the Kachin
Independence Organisation.
U Aung Min later criticised the
nature of Bran Shawngs arrest, saying that if the law was to be used in
this way then U Aung Min should
also have been arrested for contact
with illegal groups.

MORE than one-third of Mon States

school-age children fail to finish primary school, according to a report
on women and childrens rights by
the Human Rights Foundation of
Monland.
Despite government initiatives to
make schooling free, which have been
extended to high schools this year,
lack of financial resources is the main
reason driving children to leave school
early, a study of 146 people in rural
Mon areas found.
Project spokesperson Mi Htaw
Chan said one problem was the lack of
middle and high schools.
The cost of education becomes
greater and greater after primary
school is finished, she said. There is
no middle and high school in remote
villages so children have to go for
miles to schools in distant villages.
The governments free education
cant cover most remote villages, she
continued.
However, the Union government
and international organisations are
working to ensure children in Myanmars most far flung corners have access to education.
INGOs like UNICEF are building
new schools in Mon State. Ten have
been completed, Ma Mi Htaw Chan
said. Meanwhile, the government is
expanding its free education to cover
remote villages.
The government is also taking
steps to address the lack of teachers in
some areas, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Education
in Nay Pyi Taw.
There are not enough in such areas, so the Ministry of Education has
called for more teachers to go to these
places, they said.
Through its research, the Human
Rights Foundation of Monland found
that 87 children out of 135 from three
townships and 17 villages in Mon and
Kayin states and Taninthari Region
said they stopped their education due
to difficulties related to the cost of
living in Myanmar for their families.
Unfortunately, faced with these issues,
many children exit school early to earn
money.
Some children with big bodies and
those that are older than others said
they dont want to go to school because
they are more keen to earn money. But
some replied they want to continue
their education but they cant because
they will no longer receive family support and their villages are far remote
from schools, said Ma Mi Htaw Chan.
Most cant continue their education
even though they finished primary
level under free education.
The Ministry of Education is implementing its free education system
across the country this year. To ensure
schools have an adequate number of
teachers, the ministry will appoint
more than 70,000 this year throughout the country.
Human Rights Foundation of Monland member Mi Cherry Soe said the
group hoped that the report would be
used as a starting point for follow-up
research and measures to improve access to education.
She said the report took five
months to complete, and researchers
faced a number of difficulties.
We have discussed a long time
how to conduct this research because
some [communities] are afraid of us.
I think its because they arent use to
answering questions like this, she
said. Some areas we werent able to
conduct the survey because residents
would not allow us to enter.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views

Cambodia may hold an answer

to the post-election puzzle
ROGER
MITTON

rogermitton@gmail.com

PINIONS are divided about

whether it will be necessary,
or even possible, to form
a coalition government in
Myanmar after the general
election later this year.
The subject has become topical
due to a growing consensus that no
single party looks likely to win an
absolute majority, not even Daw Aung
San Suu Kyis National League for
Democracy.
If so, then the critical issue will
not be whether there can be a formal
coalition, but whether the leaders of
the parties elected to parliament can
form a working relationship together.
It will not be easy and the potential post-election scenarios are
worrisome, especially since Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred
from the presidency and the NLD has
no obvious alternative.
As the International Crisis Group
observed, even if the NLD wins in
a landslide it will have to select a
compromise candidate for president
potentially a reformist member of the
old regime.
If that is what lies ahead, there
will need to be some kind of tacit
partnership between the NLD and the
former military leaders who helm the
Union Solidarity and Development
Party.
That will be hard to stomach for
anti-junta diehards, but in practice
it may prove to be exactly what is
required to maintain social harmony
and stability and to reassure and
galvanise investors.
Actually, there are already examples in the region, notably in Cambodia and Malaysia, where this kind of

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing speak prior to six-way talks in Nay Pyi Taw on April 10.
Photo: Presidents Office

yin-yang linkup of political opposites

has worked tolerably well, provided
there is flexibility on both sides.
For example, since it became
independent more than half a century
ago, Malaysia has been governed by a
coalition of widely disparate parties,
first called the Alliance, then the
National Front.
The ethnic, linguistic and religious
diversity of the Fronts components
dwarf differences between the NLD
and USDP, yet they stay together for
the national good and, of course, for
their continued hold on power.
The Malaysian system has ups and
downs, and currently it is enduring
a down period. But it has served the
country well and helped it avoid the
strife and turmoil seen in places like
Thailand and the Philippines.
Most importantly, it has ensured
that Malaysia has remained a pluralist democracy, so that every four or
five years its citizens have gone to

the polls without fail to elect a new

government.
Yes, there have been electoral
shenanigans, vote-buying, gerrymandering and so on, but they have rarely
been worse than what passes for normal in Europe and North America.
So the Malaysian example could
work here, but only if the parties in a
Myanmar National Front agreed on
the selection of key leaders and ministers, and avoided contesting against
each other in future polls.
In reality, there is little chance the
NLD and USDP would agree to this.
Although the NLD and some ethnic
minority parties might consent to do
so, recent comments by their leaders
suggest the prospect is a non-starter.
So let us look at Cambodia, which
provides a more apt, though less
savoury, parallel of how Myanmars
post-election scenario might pan out.
Over the past 25 years, since emerging from the Khmer Rouge

genocide and the subsequent Vietnamese occupation, Cambodia has undergone a remarkably similar transition to
the one Myanmar is now experiencing.
Before its first multi-party elections in 1993, there was the same
anxiety, the same wait-and-see stance
by potential investors, and the same
banter about potential tie-ups between parties and their leaders.
In an eerie echo of Myanmars
current situation, Cambodia then had
an authoritarian regime led by an
ex-military strongman, Hun Sen, and
still faced pockets of intense fighting
around the countrys periphery.
It also had a population that, though
still suffering from the barbarism of the
Khmer Rouge, was excited by emerging
opposition figures who vowed to kickstart the economy, boost development
and restore the rule of law.
Sound familiar? It may prove to be
a salient and rather rocky template
for what might befall Myanmar.

As expected, the Cambodian opposition, led by the regal and formerly

jailed Prince Norodom Ranariddh
and his sidekick and financial expert
Sam Rainsy, defeated the much reviled Hun Sen.
Ranariddhs triumph owed much
to the way his candidates wore
T-shirts embossed with the face of
his revered father, King Norodom
Sihanouk, just as the NLD use the image of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis father,
General Aung San.
But the outcome was far from a
landslide: Ranariddhs party won 58
seats to Hun Sens 51 and the latter
alleged irregularities and instigated
unrest that was only quieted when
they agreed to form a coalition
government.
Ranariddh became First Prime
Minister, and while Hun Sen settled
for Second PM, he quickly resumed a
dominant role due to his support in
the military.
So the partnership soon began to
crumble. Rainsy, who had been made
finance minister, was the first to go.
Then Ranariddh was neutralised and
Hun Sen again became the sole PM, a
post he still holds today.
Indeed, the wily PM has even managed to entice back both Rainsy and
Ranariddh, who, thoroughly emasculated, have sworn to avoid harsh
criticism of Hun Sens government as
part of a new culture of dialogue.
It is possible this may foreshadow
what may happen in Myanmar, if, as
many expect, Daw Aung San Suu Kyis
NLD wins the most seats in the election, yet needs to forge some kind of
alliance with the military-dominated
USDP.
Perhaps, like Ranariddh, she will
link up with a Hun Sen equivalent,
such as the former general turned
parliament speaker Thura U Shwe
Mann, or perhaps the current armed
forces commander Senior General
Min Aung Hlaing.
Whoever she chooses, he may
initially be sweet and cooperative,
as Hun Sen was, but then gradually
dominate more and more, until her
NLD falls into line and itself becomes
an authoritarian administration.
Now, isnt that a sweet thought.

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

Business
More to
kyat drop
than meets
the eye:
Set Aung
HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
ALTHOUGH the kyat has fallen in trading against the US dollar, it does not
mean the real value of the local currency is dropping, according to Central
Bank of Myanmar deputy governor U
Set Aung.
Speaking during a session of the
Pyithu Hluttaw yesterday, he said it
is important to not only consider the
nominal value of the kyat, but also the
real value. The nominal value is simply
the value of the kyat against the dollar
or another foreign currency, while the
real value is the relative cost of goods in
the kyat in Myanmar compared to the
cost of the same good in other currencies in their respective country.
U Set Aung said the real value is a
better assessment of the possibility of
inflation. The figures of K1130 or K1140
per dollar that we have seen in the domestic exchange market are just a nominal value. We cant assess whether the
real exchange rate is increasing or decreasing only by looking at the nominal
value, said U Set Aung.
The Central Bank of Myanmar
continually calculates whether the exchange rate should be changed and
whether a direct or indirect mechanism
is best.
The Central Bank has also received
criticism that its daily reference rate
does not match the market rate. It is illegal to trade outside a band of plus or
minus 0.8 percent of the official reference rate.
Yesterday, the Central Banks rate
was K1090 a dollar, while exchanges
flouting the rules had the rate closer to
K1130.
U Set Aung said it is also the case
in other countries that the market exchange rate does not exactly match the
Central Banks reference rate. Different
countries often have different exchange
rates than are found in corresponding
countries.
Other Asian countries have also
faced a decline in nominal exchange
values against the dollar, he said.
From September 2014 to last month,
the Singapore dollar dropped 6.6pc
against the US dollar, Indonesias rupiah fell 12.5pc, Malaysias ringgit declined 13.5pc, the Japanese yen fell 18pc
and Myanmars kyat declined by 14pc.
The euro, one of the worlds most important currencies, also fell 19pc during
the period against the dollar.
During the same period, the value of
euro has also struggled to reach 19pc, U
Set Aung said.
The explanation by the deputy governor was prompted by parliamentarian concerns that the kyats depreciation
may lead to price increases.
U Than Win, a Pyithu Hluttaw representative from Magwe Region, said
people were worried over possible increases in the commodity prices.
The exchange rate has risen to more
than K1130 per dollar, from K1020, in a
period from March to May, he said. It
is assumed that the kyats value has fallen quickly in a short period. So people
are worried about consumer prices, that
they may increase as a consequence.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

Local banks fret foreign rivals

Too much hassle

CLARE
HAMMOND
clarehammo@gmail.com

DOMESTIC banks fear that international lenders opening branch offices

in Myanmar will pursue an aggressive
strategy and poach the best local clients, but commentators believe this is
unlikely to happen, for now.
Between April and September, nine
global banks will open branch offices
in Yangon, becoming the first foreign
institutions to undertake active commercial operations in Myanmar since
1963. In theory they are restricted to
servicing the accounts of foreign companies operating in Myanmar.
Theyre only supposed to bank
foreign companies. But whats a foreign company? Legally its just somebody with a share held by a foreign
shareholder. Any Myanmar corporate
worth their salt has a foreign shareholder, which means they can access funding from the international
banks, said an executive at a Myanmar bank.
While barred from serving local
businesses, the foreign banks are free
to lend to foreign companies doing
business in Myanmar. Under the Myanmar Companies Act, any foreign
shareholding in an otherwise Myanmar company turns it into a foreign
company, making it eligible for lending from foreign banks.
Local banks are concerned that
restrictions on their own business
activities, including a 13 percent cap
on loan interest rates, and a mandate
to only offer kyat-denominated loans,
will drive these local businesses with
some foreign ownership into the arms
of foreign banks. The interest rate cap
has long been a matter of contention.
While the Central Bank of Myanmar
has made no official comment, foreign banks confirm that they will not
be subject to the same controls when
issuing foreign currency loans.
There is no interest rate cap for
foreign currency loans. The interest
rates we can offer for US dollar loans
are based on individual bank policy.
We will be able to offer loans in Singapore dollars, US dollars, Euros and
possibly also Thai baht and Malaysian
ringgit, though we will need to confirm this, said Tetsuro Nonaka, chief
Myanmar representative at Mizuho
Bank.
This will allow international banks
much more flexibility than local lenders when pricing risk, allowing them
to take on projects that local banks
may not be able to, because the local banks cannot lend at higher rates
than 13pc in kyat.
To make the playing field even
less level, foreign banks will be able
to lend in both foreign and local
currency, while local banks are restricted to lending only in kyat. This
means that Myanmar companies requiring loans in anything other than
kyat will require the services of a foreign bank.
The reason for this rule is to discourage foreign banks from lending
in US dollars, to prevent the local
currency from weakening further,
said a senior central bank official.
Foreign banks can lend directly to
foreign companies in kyat as we do
not want to encourage them to lend
in foreign currencies, he told The
Myanmar Times.

However, while Myanmar companies

with existing foreign shareholders
may choose this route, lawyers say
that local firms are unlikely to go
through the hassle of selling a share
to a foreigner, just to become eligible
for a foreign currency loan.
As soon as a local company becomes a foreign company it cant own
land, it cant take a lease for more
than a year. If its got an MIC [Myanmar Investment Commission] permit
under the Myanmar Investment Law,
that would be cancelled and it would
have to get another one under the
Foreign Investment Law, said a Yangon-based partner at an international
law firm.
It would also have to get over the
hurdle of notifying DICA [the Directorate of Investment and Company
Administration] that it was transferring a share to an international buyer.
Finally, local banks dont lend to foreign companies, so that funding channel would be closed. For the amount
youd want to borrow to make all of
that worthwhile, I dont think youre
in the territory that local companies
are in anyway, he said.
This may change if reforms to the
Myanmar Companies Act are passed,
and the definition of a foreign company is changed. According to the new
draft law, a foreign company is defined by a threshold, but this threshold is yet to be defined.

PERCENT

13

Interest rate cap for kyat loans, which

will not apply on foreign currency
loans given by foreign banks

Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

But even if local companies choose

to go through this process, international banks have no real incentive to
offer loans to Myanmar companies.
Almost all have made it clear that
their initial focus will be on issuing
loans to existing overseas clients.
In many cases we will request a
Japanese or international corporate
to provide an offshore guarantee. International banks have global policies
in terms of risk, so this helps to minimise concerns, said Mr Nonaka.
Many believe that domestic credits
carry too much risk, though Singaporean banks may be more aggressive
in lending to local companies due to
their existing wealth management relationships with Myanmar clients.
International banks are permitted
to lend to local banks, but commentators argue that even this may not
happen until local banks are audited
to an international standard, allowing
foreign branches to accurately assess
their credit quality.
Some believe that even issuing
foreign currency loans will be troublesome for international banks, particularly as each loan may need to be
approved by the central bank.
The strict regulatory environment and unclear judicial climate
are likely to limit lending in practice.
For example, it is unclear whether a
foreign-owned bank would be able to
legally enforce a claim on property,
said research firm Oxford Business
Group (OBG) in its 2015 Doing Business Report.
Banking Asia
While business may initially be hampered by the underdeveloped local
market, many of the new international banks have big plans for Myanmar.
Country manager for UOB Harry Loh
previously told The Myanmar Times
that the Singaporean bank has a
pipeline of loans, not just to its home
market, but to businesses from China,
Hong Kong and Thailand too.
UOBs first onshore loan is to Rangoon Excelsior, a French-Myanmar

joint venture, to refurbish a Yangon

hotel at the corner of Bo Soon Pat and
Merchant streets.
A survey by the bank published in
April says that one in four Asian businesses plans to expand into Myanmar
this year, making Myanmar one of the
top investment destinations in the
region. One-third of businesses from
Hong Kong said they would expand
into Myanmar in 2015, followed by
28pc of companies in Thailand, 26pc
in China, 25pc in Malaysia and 21pc
in Singapore.
It is expected that the biggest
beneficiaries for these foreign banks
operations are the power, real estate
and infrastructure sectors. Undoubtedly, this will improve access to capital and liquidity, said Melvin Poon,
financial services leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a press release.
Furthermore, foreign banks will
be able to partner with local banks
in areas such as trade finance. They
have also provided training programs
to help develop a local banking talent
base, according to a Business Monitor
International report published earlier
this month.
For their part, the government
and members of parliament are
weighing their interest in nurturing
domestic banking groups against
their desire for a better capitalised
banking sector that would more actively drive economic growth, according to the OBG report.
A possible compromise being discussed by the parliaments banking
committee would allow foreign banks
to buy stakes in or form joint ventures
with local banks.
To date, the only foreign institution to lay the groundwork to take an
equity stake in a local lender is the
International Finance Corporation
(IFC), which has issued a US$5 million convertible loan to Yoma Bank.
The equity component of this deal
offers greater security to the IFC
than a straight loan would. IFC is reportedly in talks to replicate the deal
with CB Bank and Myanmar Oriental Bank.

BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Is farmland worth preserving

or should it be opened up for
development?

Dutch scientists study ways

to generate electricity from
paddy fields

BUSINESS 10

BUSINESS 12

Banks
preparing
for credit
cards

Exchange Rates (June 3 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying

Selling

K1204
K296
K802
K32.3
K1097

K1224
K308
K814
K34
K1099

Work is under way on Sule Square Mall and Office,

near the existing Sule Shangri-La hotel (at right).
Photo: Thiri Lu

AYE THIDAR KYAW

ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
THE 21 banks that are members of
the Myanmar Payment Union are
preparing to offer credit cards for
citizens, according to the unions
chair U Mya Thain.
Credit cards currently in the
local market require prepayment
and are closer to debit cards. Myanmar had true credit cards more
than a decade ago, though they disappeared in the wake of the 2003
banking crisis. Last month, KBZ announced it will be the first domestic
bank to again offer credit cards after receiving Central Bank of Myanmar approval to move forward.
U Mya Than said that while
credit cards are not new products,
it is important that banks are cautious and avoid financial problems.
We must foresee the risks. We
have to manage the services within
limits, and that will probably not
meet the customers wants in the
initial stage, he said.
Initially, the limits on the credit
cards will be between K300 and
K500,000 a comparatively small
amount. Users of KBZs service
must also have a bank account with
the bank or have two people vouch
for them.
Debit cards and prepaid credit
cards have been on the market for
a few years. However, they are not
widely used, as there are comparatively few shops that accept them.
U Mya Than said that some shop
owners have been frustrated by
use of cards, as their staff were unskilled with point-of-sale machines
and online connections can be spotty. Some shops only accept cash.
The mindset of people needs
to change, he said. People need to
get used to not carrying cash and
instead putting money onto their
cards. Their habits may change if
they can get credit. Hopefully this
will smooth the transition, he said.
A number of the countrys leading banks are planning credit cards.
CB Bank managing director
U Pe Myint said it will only issue
secure credit cards for its banks
customers at first. It has already
proposed policies and procedures
for its credit card program to the
Central Bank, and it will start the
program as soon the Central Bank
approves, he said.
Still, CBs plans will require the
customer to have the same amount
of money in a deposit account.
If a customer has K1 million in
his account, he will be able to use
K1 million [with the card], he said.
This is not a problem as long as he
doesnt use a banks capital.
U Man Soe Tun Win, general
manager of AYA Banks card department, said banks need to
have secure recommendations
from a credit bureau when preparing to judge borrowers. There
have been plans announced for a
credit bureau, though so far it has
not materialised.
In addition, banks still do not
share enough data to develop a
credit network, according to U Man
Soe Tun Win.

Shangri-La launches offices

and shopping centre downtown
CLARE
HAMMOND
clarehammo@gmail.com

THE Shangri-La Group has launched

the Sule Square Mall and Office tower,
a high-end commercial complex, which
is being built in downtown Yangon, and
is due to open in early 2016.
Luxury shopping centres in downtown Yangon are in short supply. Over
the past few years, new department
stores have slowly been built and international brands have entered the
market at an equally leisurely pace. Existing retail centres in the city include
the Dagon Centres I and II, FMI Centre,
Gamone Pwint, the Junction branded
malls, Sein Gay Har, United Living Mall
and Yuzana Plaza.
This new complex will be directly
connected to the Sule Shangri-La Yangon, formerly Traders Hotel. It will be
located on the corner of Sule Pagoda
Road and Anawrahta Road, and will
comprise 6000 square metres (64,500
sq feet) of retail and food and beverage space with more than 30 shops
over two floors, as well as restaurants, a
large supermarket and over 500 indoor

Shangri-Las Phillip Couvaras smiles

as Colliers Tony Picon signs.
Photo: Thiri Lu

car parking spaces.

Above the shopping centre will be 15
floors of grade A offices, with 2000 sq m
per floor, providing a total of 30,000 sq
m of new office space. Tenants will have
two options to rent a bare shell space
with basic features including raised
floor panels, or to rent a partially decorated space, with air conditioners, a fitted ceiling and lights. All offices come
with lift access and 24-hour security.
In the past, many people used the
Shangri-La Hotel lobby as an unofficial
office. Even we used it as a secondary
office when the internet elsewhere was
bad. Hopefully now those people who
started their business in the ShangriLa can now have a real office in Sule
Square, said Tony Picon, managing
director of Colliers International in Myanmar, at the launch. Colliers is the sole
leasing representative for the project.
At the end of 2014, total office supply in Yangon was only 107,000 sq m of
net usable space, according to Colliers
research. In 2015, new supply coming online is estimated to reach over
60,000 sq m more than twice that
of 2014, according to Colliers research.
This accounts for 12 new office buildings due to open this year, including
Union Financial Centre by Shwe Taung
Development, Strand Square by Flying
Tiger Engineering, Vantage Tower by
Myint & Associates, The Office @ Novotel Yangon Max by Max Myanmar and
Uniteam Office Tower by Uniteam Marine, according to Colliers. However, Mr
Picon said that Sule Square is unlikely
to be hurt by the competition.
A number of office buildings are
coming up but we believe this is genuine grade A and will set the benchmark
for the next few years, he said. The
price suggests the quality ought to be
good rental rates start at $80 to $85
per square metre per month for partly
fitted units on lower floors, rising to
$85 to $90 for middle floors, according to Mr Picon. Presumably rates for
fully fitted units on the highest floors
are higher.
The Yangon average office rental rate
ended at US$69.17 per square metre per

month at the end of 2014, according

to Colliers research. This is a slight increase from $68.75 per month at the end
of the third quarter.
The skyline of downtown Yangon
will change a great deal over the next
few years as Sule Square is built, along
with the 32-storey Shwegone Emotion
Tower, Shwe Taungs Union Financial
Centre, Yoma Strategics Landmark
Development and Naing Groups Towers I and II. At present, there are only
three high-rise buildings in downtown
Yangon the Sule Centrepoint Towers,
the Sakura Tower and the Shangri-La
Hotel.
New high rise developments in
downtown Yangon will be limited under a new zoning law aimed at protecting Yangons existing infrastructure.
While the law has faced delays and is
yet to be passed, public pressure has
halted several planned high-rise projects, including the 555 Merchant Street

Office Tower, which was due to be built

beside the Indian Embassy on Merchant Street, with 38 storeys.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is
best known for its hotels, but began developing mixed-use projects four years
ago. The company currently owns and
manages 90 hotels under the ShangriLa brand. The Shangri-La Hotel in
Yangon first opened in 1996 under the
Traders brand but was rebranded in
2014 after an extensive renovation.
In early 2015, the company opened
the Shangri-la Residences Yangon, a
project beside Kandawgyi Lake including two 21 storey towers of 120
apartments each, as well as gardens, a gym, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a mini supermarket.
The company has also announced
plans to build a 350-room Lakeside
Shangri-La hotel near to Kandawgyi
Lake, with an investment of around
$115 million.

TRADE MARK CAUTION

MHCS, a company incorporated in France, of 9, avenue de
Champagne, 51200 Epernay, France, is the Owner of the following
Trade Mark:-

VEUVE CLICQUOT
Reg. No. 12955/2011
in respect of Intl Class 33: Alcoholic beverages (except beers);
wines, sparkling wines; wines from the French Appellation of
Origin Champagne.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for MHCS
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 4 June 2015

10 Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Pizza Hut International, LLC, a Delaware USA Limited Liability
Company, of 7100 Corporate Drive, Plano, Texas 75024, U.S.A is
the owner and sole proprietor of the following Trade Mark:-

(Reg: No. IV/3815/2012)

Use in respect of: - Prepared meals, included in class 29 consisting
primarily of meats, seafood, poultry, mushrooms, cooked
vegetables, cheese, and preserved fruits. (International Class 29)
Pizza pies, flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry,
and confectionery; spices, sauces. (International Class 30) and
Restaurant services. (International Class 42)
Any unauthorized use, imitation, infringements, or fraudulent
intention of the above trademark will be dealt with according to law.
Moe Mynn Thu (LL.B; LL.M; M.Res)
Rouse Myanmar
For Pizza Hut International, LLC,
Email: myanmar@rouse.com
Dated: 4th June, 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Richemont International SA, a Company incorporated in
Switzerland, of Route des Biches 10 Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland,
is the Owner of the following Trade Marks:Reg. No. 5594/1996

Reg. No. 5595/1996

in respect of Ashtrays, badges, boxes, candlesticks, cases, coffee
and tea services, cuff-links, household containers and utensils,
powder compacts, salt and sugar containers, table plates, trays for
household purposes, all these made of precious metals or coated
therewith. Jewellery, precious stones, horological and chronometric
instruments.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Marks
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for Richemont International SA
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 4 June 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

MUNDIPHARMA AG, a company organized and existing under
the laws of Switzerland, of St. Alban Rheinweg 74, CH-4020 Basel,
Switzerland, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

Reg. No. 5004/2015

in respect of Class 05: Pharmaceutical preparations and
substances, namely for disinfectants and antiseptics. Class 10:
Medical device for wound healing.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for MUNDIPHARMA AG
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 4 June 2015

Ministry push to improve

waterway logistics
SHWEGU
THITSAR
khaingsabainyein@gmail.com

THE Ministry of Transport will

focus on constructing new ports
and renovating docks and jetties,
as well as developing the Thilawa
port region, using a combination
of Japanese loans and government
funds, said U Thet Tun, deputy permanent secretary for the Ministry
of Transport.
The ministry will also collaborate with local and foreign private
companies in its bid to improve the
countrys water transport systems.
We plan to hold a technological seminar in August with the help
of Japan to enhance the safety of
our waterway transportation, he
said. We also plan to install a Vessel Traffic Management System to
improve the safety of ships coming
into and leaving Yangon Port, with
help from Japan.
Myanmar Port Authority will
also begin the construction of jetties in Thilawa special economic
zone (SEZ) this month, he said. This
will be funded through a US$209
million Official Development Assistance loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
which is to be spent on developing
the SEZ. ODA loans are typically
long-duration loans that carry very
low interest rates.
The Ministry of Transport signed
a deal in March to adopt a port electronic data interchange (EDI) system, using $14.27 million in grant
aid from Japan. This will help to
enhance the capability of the port,
and will be implemented within two
years, according to the agreement.
Since water transport is the
cheapest way to carry many goods,

Shipping containers are arriving in Yangon in unseen numbers. Photo: AFP

the ministry will focus on improving the waterways of the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers and preventing riverbank erosion.
Several more waterways projects
are awaiting approval from Myanmar Investment Commission. One of
these is an agreement between Myanma Port Authority and Sein Kaung
Yadanar Trading Company, which
won a tender to upgrade Sule Port
into an international cargo port.
Another is an agreement between tender winner Downtown
Development Public Limited and
Myanma Port Authority to redevelop the Yangon Port area, Nanthida
Port and the Pansodan-Dala Jetty.
The number of ships arriving
into Yangon Port has doubled over
the past 10 years, while the arrival
of general goods has increased by
2.5 times, and the arrival of containers has increased fourfold over the
same period, said U Thet Tun.
To be able to handle the rise in
traffic, the ministry will need to

upgrade the jetties and build new

ports. Myanmar will spend K8838
million ($8 million) this fiscal year
to repair its waterways, docks and
jetties, he said.
Currently Yangon has 32 jetties
in total 23 international jetties in
the Yangon Port area, and nine jetties in the Thilawa Port area.
The government is trying to increase the involvement of the private sector, in order to effectively
upgrade the ports, according to the
Ministry of Transport. The current
jetty ownership ratio between government owned jetties and those
owned by the private sector is 80:20
in favour of government ownership.
The ministry is also receiving
$100 million worth of loans from
the World Bank for the Ayeyarwady
Integrated River Basin Management
Project, which aims to strengthen
management and development of
the river basin and national water
resources.
Translated by Khant Lin Oo

Farmland ripe for developments

TIN YADANAR TUN
yadanar.mcm@gmail.com
URBAN city development and planning experts have warned that unless
farmland in and around Yangon is
protected by law it will continue to be
sold for large industrial or residential
projects, or divided up to be used for
houses and factories.
We need to protect the farmland.
There are only a few farms left in Yangon and many have been sold already.
Under the current law it is very easy to
reclassify land that is legally farmland to
become another type of land. If a law to
prevent this is not enacted, agricultural
land in Yangon will disappear, said U
Than Moe, senior adviser to the Urban
Research and Development Institute.
According to the 2012 Farmland
Law, it is easy to buy farmland and reclassify it for building purposes. The
related government departments need
to examine this problem, said U Than
Moe. The Farmland Law enacted in
March 2012 aims at establishing a land
use certificate and registration system.
The agricultural land in Yangon is
obviously decreasing. The rice production rate has fallen over the past four
years. Farmland is rare, and there is
less produce, which means prices are
rising. That is not good for the future,
said rice merchant U Kyaw Aye.
The price of agricultural products
in Yangon region looks likely to rise if
farmland continues to be used for other purposes. Farmers are selling their
land because their businesses are not

doing well, and also the government

is confiscating farmland. The current
law does not effectively prevent the
confiscation of land. We need new laws
that provide greater protection, said U
Kyaw Aye.
In the past, farmland has been taken to be used for Yangons industrial
zones. In addition, a plan drafted by
the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) in collaboration with
Yangon City Development Committee
(YCDC) to expand Yangons urban area
may see more farmland in Thanlyin,
Kyauktan, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htantabin townships converted to another
type of land.
There are many other areas in
Yangon that are still predominantly
farmland including Thaketa, Dala,
Kyeemyindaing, Mingalardon, Hlaing
Tharyar, Thanlyin and the four Dagon
townships.
On the other hand, some experts
believe that low-cost and affordable
high-rise buildings should be built on

The agricultural
land in Yangon
is obviously
decreasing.
U Kyaw Aye
Rice merchant

Yangons outskirts where large plots

of land, often classified as farmland,
are available. This will help to solve
the citys housing problems as its
population grows.
If we build high-rises downtown,
the heritage sites and colonial buildings will be affected, so we need to
build these uptown instead, where
there is a lot of land at a fair price, said
Daw Hlaing Maw Oo, assistant director
of DHSHDs Urban and Regional Planning Division.
According to research by the World
Bank, in 2012, 19.3 percent of land
across Myanmar was classified as
farmland, though there are no statistics available for Yangon.
Agriculture is a key sector of Myanmars economy. The agricultural sector,
including livestock and fisheries, represents 32.8pc of gross domestic product
(GDP) according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, with industry accounting for 21.0pc and services 46.2pc.
A significant proportion of industry is also related directly or indirectly
to agriculture. In fiscal year 2014, agriculture accounted for 31.8pc of export
value. In terms of employment, around
61.2pc of the labour force is engaged in
agriculture or depends, to a significant
extent, on it for its income, according
to a Ministry of Agriculture statement
at the end of last year.
However, in 2001 the agriculture
sector accounted for around 57pc of
GDP, which had fallen to 36pc by 2010,
according to figures from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
CANBERRA

Oz economy worth shouting about

AUSTRALIAS economy was stronger-than-expected in the first quarter of the year as exports and consumer spending boosted growth,
data showed yesterday, reinforcing
a decision to keep interest rates on
hold after two cuts this year.
The mining-driven economy
grew by 0.9 percent in the first
three months of 2015, above analysts expectations of 0.7pc, to take
the annual rate of growth to 2.3pc,
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed.
The quarterly growth was an
increase from 0.5pc in the October-December period last year and
0.3pc in the July-September quarter. But year-on-year growth slowed
from 2.5pc in the last three months
of 2014.
This is a good, solid result,
Treasurer Joe Hockey told reporters, adding that the expansion was
broad-based.
Exports continue to support
our economy, growing by 5pc, and
this is the strongest quarterly result
in 15 years ... There is growth in areas such as tourism, education and
professional services.
The Australian dollar jumped
one-third of a US cent to US$0.7806
after the data was released.
The figures came a day after the

TOKYO

SoftBank
buys into
Korean
online
retailer
JAPANESE mobile carrier SoftBank said yesterday it would invest
US$1.0 billion in South Koreas biggest online retailer Coupang, whose
founder has said he wants his firm
to become the Amazon of Korea.
The purchase is the latest in a
string of investments for SoftBank
including the takeover of numberthree US wireless operator Sprint
in a $21.6 billion deal. The firm already owns a stake in Chinas Alibaba online marketplace.
The deal also marks the biggest
investment so far in Seoul-based
Coupang, which was founded in
2010 and offers everything from
baby goods and beauty products
to electronics and tickets for travel
and cultural events.
The deal would value Coupang
between $4.0 and $5.0 billion.
A SoftBank spokesperson in
Tokyo said a company subsidiary
would acquire an unspecified equity stake in the South Korean firm,
which exceeded $1.0 billion in sales
for the first time in 2013. Its mobile
platform was responsible for 70
percent of revenue.
Apart from Seoul, Coupang also
has offices in Silicon Valley, Seattle
and Shanghai.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son
has previously said he plans to buy
stakes in 30 to 40pc of Asia-based
internet firms as he looks to build
on his previous investment in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
SoftBank already has stakes in
about 1200 companies, including
32pc of Alibaba, which made a record $25 billion initial public offering in New York last year.
AFP

People walk into a shop displaying sale signage in Sydneys Pitt Street Mall
yesterday. Photo: AFP

Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates steady at a record-low

2.0pc after cuts of 50 basis points
so far this year.
Its a good number but its not a
game changer for us or the RBA, JP
Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said.

Its just more evidence that the

Australian economy is now relying
on net exports but growth is recovering after a very weak 2014. We
think this year will be better and
we think next year is going to be
better again.

Australias economy is transiting away from mining-led growth

after an unprecedented boom in
resources investment that has help
it avoid a recession for more than
two decades.
The mining boom is shifting towards the exports stage, as the figures showed. But the move toward
non-resources-led growth has been
shaky, with such industries yet to
fill the gap left by the China-fuelled
mining surge.
Exports added 1.1 percentage points to GDP growth in the
first quarter after jumping by 5pc.
Household spending increased by
0.5pc to contribute 0.3 percentage
points to GDP.
Non-dwelling construction fell
the most, dropping by 4.9pc during the January to March period to
subtract 0.4 percentage points from
GDP.
Despite the strong headline figures, the income side of the economy remained weak.
Nominal GDP, which is not adjusted for inflation, rose by 0.4pc
for the quarter for an annual rate
of 1.2pc. Real net national disposable income a measure of the
nations earnings and which factors in the terms of trade lifted
by 0.2pc quarter-on-quarter to be

0.2pc lower for the year.

The soft figures were a reflection
of the weakening terms of trade, a
ratio that measures export prices to
import prices, as commodity prices
plunge and hurt the resources-dependent economy.
The RBA kept the cash rate on
hold on June 2 but warned the
economy was continuing to grow
below-trend and was likely to be
operating with a degree of spare
capacity for some time yet. Annual trend growth is estimated to be
about 3pc.
National Australia Bank chief
markets economist Ivan Colhoun
said the Reserve Bank was waiting for more data on the economys
possible recovery.
They are not cutting interest
rates anytime soon just as a general matter of course because they
would always look at the impact
of their last two cuts, unless the
economy is very quickly deteriorating which it isnt at this stage,
he said.
This data suggests that it might
not be quite as weak as theyve been
fearing. But theyre also not going
to change their mind quickly that
mining investment is going to be
quite weak next year.
AFP

12 International Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

AMSTERDAM

Generating
electricity
straight from
paddy fields
DUTCH scientists have developed
a revolutionary system that could
one day help isolated villages
around the world steadily generate
electricity from mundane waterlogged plants such as rice growing
in paddy fields.
Its based on the principle that
plants produce more energy than
they need, said Marjolein Helder,
co-founder of Plant-e, which makes
products that harvest energy from
living plants.
The advantage of this system
over wind or solar is that it also
works at night and when theres no
wind, she said.
Founded in 2009, Plant-e is perfecting a system originally dreamt
up at Wageningen University and
patented in 2007.
All that the system requires
to produce electricity is a plant
growing in water, be it mangrove
swamps, rice paddies, bogs, or simply in a pot or your garden.
Its just the beginning and lots
of things still need to be greatly
improved, but the potential is enormous, said Jacqueline Cramer,
professor of sustainable innovation
at Utrecht University and former
Dutch environment minister.
If the system becomes good

enough, it could provide electricity for isolated areas or even be

installed in our cities and countryside to produce clean electricity,
she said.
The technology harnesses the
excess organic matter produced
by the plant during photosynthesis, which is expelled through the
plants roots and the consumed by
micro-organisms.
That consumption frees up electrons, which can then be harvested
by placing carbon electrodes close
to the roots to generate electricity.
Getting power from plants is
not new, but here we dont need to
damage the plant. Its a non-invasive system, said Ms Helder.
Electricity stops being produced
if the water evaporates or freezes,
but you just need to add water or
wait for the ice to melt, she said.
In many parts of the world they
dont have this kind of problem.
Plant-e, based in Wageningen in
the eastern Netherlands, currently
sells a system consisting of 50-centimetre (around 20-inch) square
plastic plates containing the technology that can slot together and
hold the plants.
This system is designed for
parks or rooftops, but comes with

Dutch scientist Marjolein Helder, co-founder of Plant-e, which makes products that harvest energy from living plants,
handles an energy producing apparatus. Photo: AFP

a hefty price tag: 60,000 euros

(US$66,000) to cover 100 square
metres (about 1000 square feet).
But the flagship product is still
being developed: tubes that can be
quickly and easily submerged to
start generating electricity in a watery area.
The systems potential is vast,
but particularly suited to Southeast
Asia, with its rice fields, mangrove
swamps and other wetlands where
electricity is often unavailable.
Less than one-third of the population of Cambodia has access to
electricity and less than half in Myanmar. In Bangladesh, 55 percent
of people have electricity and in

Laos 66pc, according to the World

Bank.
But Plant-e, which manages to
survive thanks to subsidies, still
has a long way to go: the products
cost and efficiency must be vastly
improved.
Currently, a 100-square-metre
system provides enough electricity
to charge a mobile phone, power
some LED lights or a wireless internet access point.
But in a few years, Plant-e
hopes that a similar-sized system
will provide 2800 kilowatt-hours,
or around 80pc of the electricity
needs of an average Dutch family of
2.2 people.

Two large-scale systems have

been installed in the Netherlands
on a road bridge and a hi-tech
startup campus at a total cost of
120,000 euros, with the support of
municipal authorities.
We wanted to help develop this
technique which has enormous potential, said Bas Boeker, who manages state-owned properties including the startup campus.
Initial results are encouraging,
say the developers, and the problems are not necessarily those you
would expect: The LED lamps on
the road bridge project have already
been destroyed by vandals.
AFP

PARIS

UNOCHA MYANMAR
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
(UNOCHA/YGN/2015/010)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) is seeking the applications from dynamic and highly motivated Myanmar
nationals for the following vacancy. Detailed terms of reference/ requirements
for vacancy can be requested at the UNOCHA Office. The position below is
Fixed Term Appointment for 1 year with possibility of extension.
1. Senior Humanitarian Affairs Specialist (Liaison) (NOD, 1 position)
Duty station: Yangon
Requirements

A completed advanced university degree (Masters) in Social Sciences, Social Work, International relations, Political Science or related field is a must.
Minimum seven (7) years of relevant work experience, in the field of Humanitarian Affairs/International development.
Proven record of Liaison with the Government both at National and Subnational Level.
Relevant experience in working with an UN agency or other humanitarian
agency is desir able.
Experience in the area of emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief
management, humanitarian/development environment, field coordination is
an asset.
Excellent oral and written command of English and Myanmar language is
required.
Excellent liaison, interpersonal and general communications skills;
Ability to work with minimum supervision in a multi-cultural environment.
Coordination and Information Management skills
Training and or capacity building skills
Presentation skills
Excellent command of MS Office suite applications (Word, Excel, Access,
PowerPoint)

Candidates should clearly indicate the Vacancy Number and Post Title in
their applications, and should submit them together with complete duly filled
UN-P11 form, bio-data stating personal details, academic qualification and
work experience, copies of educational credentials, and a recent passport
sized photograph. Applications should be addressed to:
Admin and HR Unit, UNOCHA Myanmar
Room (211), No (5), Kanbawza Street, Shwe Taung Kyar (2) Ward,
Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar (In front of Pearl Condo)
Closing Date: , Friday 12 June , 2015 (COB)
Email: htunn@un.org
Only short-listed candidates will be notified. Interviews will be competency
based.

OECD drops its growth forecast

on slow US, business skimping
THE OECD yesterday sharply lowered
its global growth forecasts for 2015
and 2016, dragged down partly by a
transitory shortfall in US performance and by businesses and governments skimping on investment.
Global growth is projected to
strengthen in the course of 2015 and
2016, but will remain modest relative
to the pre-crisis period, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development said.
It predicted the world economy
would grow at a rate of 3.1 percent this
year, down from the 4.0pc increase it
projected in March.
The growth forecast for next year
has been revised downward half a
percentage point, from 4.3 to 3.8pc,
with an expectation that the world
economy will strengthen gradually to
approach its past [pre-crisis] average
pace by late 2016.
The OECD, a policy analysis body
grouping 34 advanced economies,
slashed its outlook for the United
States from 3.1 and 3.0pc to 2.0 and
2.8pc for this year and next.
The Paris-based think tank said
the stronger dollar and a brutal North
American winter which it said
caused transitory disruptions put a
brake on growth in the first quarter of
2015, while predicting, Activity should
regain steam, with aggregate demand
propelled by continued employment
gains, wealth effects from rising asset
prices, and the boost to purchasing
power from lower oil prices.
China, too, will grow more slowly
than the OECD predicted in March,
by two-tenths of a percentage point

lower in both years, at 6.8pc and 6.7pc

in 2015 and 2016.
Consumption will remain robust
in China, where growth will also be
spurred by stepped-up infrastructure
investment, it said.
The OECD said that overall, the
economic recovery from the global financial and economic crisis that broke
out in 2008 has been unusually weak.
The knock-on effects have included
continuing job insecurity, sluggish
development in emerging economies
and rising inequality nearly everywhere, the report said.
However, the OECD said it expected growth to be shared more evenly
across regions of the world in the
coming period.
Its outlook for the eurozone was
unchanged for this year and slightly
rosier for 2016, at 2.1pc from 2.0pc
thanks to lower oil prices, the weak
euro, better financial conditions and
fresh stimulus spending.
But unemployment in the eurozone will remain stubborn, declining
to a still painful 10.25pc by the end of
next year, the OECD said.
The report chided businesses and
governments for what it called tepid
investment.
By and large, firms have been unwilling to spend on plant, equipment,
technology and services as vigorously
as they have done in previous cyclical
recoveries, it said.
Moreover, many governments
postponed infrastructure investments as part of fiscal consolidation, it said, with negative effects
on employment and wages and

therefore consumption.
On the supply side, sluggish investment has undermined the rate of
growth of potential output the capacity of economies to increase living
standards, make good on future obligations to citizens, and repay debt,
the report said.
Among global risk factors it cited
were new drops in oil prices; failure
to reach a satisfactory deal between
Greece and its creditors; a hard
landing in China; and a disorderly
exit from Washingtons zero interestrate policy.
It said it expected oil prices to stabilise above current levels but well
below the $110 per barrel average of
the three years preceding last years
precipitous drop.
If sanctions are lifted against Iran,
the OECD said the key oil producer
could return to full output quickly,
prompting others to lift their supply
as well in an attempt to preserve market share.
This, in turn, would loosen the
market and cause prices to rebalance
at even lower levels, it said.
Greece faces a June 5 deadline to
repay more than 300 million euros
($328 million) to the IMF. Overall it
needs to repay the global lender some
1.6 billion euros this month, funds it
currently lacks.
The OECD urged a further easing
of monetary policy in China to stabilise growth and contain deflationary
pressures.
The US Federal Reserve funds rate
has remained locked at zero since the
end of 2008. AFP

International Business 13

www.mmtimes.com
BRUSSELS

Greek PM to Brussels
for last-ditch talks
THE European Central Bank sat
down to its regular policy meeting
yesterday as Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras headed to Brussels for
make-or-break bailout talks.
While the ECBs decision-making
governing council convened in the
central banks headquarters in Frankfurt, all eyes were on a meeting between Mr Tsipras and EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker
in the Belgian capital.
Greece and its international
creditors have exchanged proposals
to reach a deal to unlock 7.2 billion
euros (US$8.0 billion) to help Athens make a critical repayment on
June 5. But months of fractious talks
have been deadlocked over creditors
insistence that Athens undertake
greater reforms which Greeces antiausterity government has refused to
match.
There are fears that Greece could
default, possibly setting off a chain
reaction that could end with a messy
exit from the eurozone.
With the ECB not expected to announce any new monetary policy
moves, analysts said they will be listening out for what president Mario
Draghi has to say about the Greek
situation.
Mr Draghi attended a meeting of
finance ministers and central bank
governors of the Group of Seven
wealthiest countries in Dresden last
week, where the efforts to hammer
out a deal and prevent a disastrous

Grexit or Greek exit from the eurozone took centre stage.

He also took part in a late-night
meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and EU Commission chief Mr Juncker on June 1.
We suspect that Draghi and colleagues will maintain a hard line
on Greece, said Capital Economics
economist Jonathan Loynes.
Among the other issues on the
agenda, the latest economic data and
the perceived effectiveness of the
ECBs recent raft of policy measures
will also be the focus of attention,
analysts said.
In March, the ECB embarked on a
program of so-called quantitative easing or QE, buying up 1.14 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in assets at a rate
of 60 billion euros per month until
September 2016.
The aim is to inject liquidity into
the financial system and push up
the eurozones chronically low rate
of inflation.
Executive board member Benoit
Coeure caused a stir two weeks ago
when he announced that the ECB
could frontload or temporarily
ramp up the purchases prior to the
summer drop-off in liquidity.
And Mr Draghi could hint at even
more frontloading if the underlying
macroeconomic backdrop justified it,
analysts said.
According to the minutes of the
governing councils last meeting in

April, while the central bank chiefs

saw a case for guarded optimism on
the short to medium-term outlook
for the euro area economy, they still
felt it was important to remain cautious given the prevailing economic
headwinds.
Hence, there is no talk of scaling
back QE just yet.
The ECB will publish its latest updated forecasts for growth and inflation in the 19 countries that share the
euro.
According to the ECBs last projections published in March, eurozone
growth was expected to reach 1.5 percent in 2015, 1.9pc in 2016 and 2.1pc
in 2017.
But with the single currency area
growing by only 0.4 percent in the
first three months, those forecasts
could come under pressure or, at
best, be left unchanged, analysts said.
Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz said he expected Mr
Draghi to take a cautious tone on the
economic outlook, offer a clear commitment to continuing quantitative
easing at least until September 2016
and warn governments on structural
reforms.
Natixis economist Johannes Gareis agreed.
We do not expect a policy
change, he said. Draghi will most
likely express strong commitment to
full QE implementation until September 2016 or even longer.
AFP

TOKYO

Weather forces solar

plane stop in Japan
THE sunshine-powered Solar
Impulse 2, which has made an
impromptu stop in Japan on its
way around the world, was under cover in its mobile hangar
yesterday as the team waited out
the weather before heading to
Hawaii.
The featherweight flying machine had been exposed to the
elements since its arrival in the
central city of Nagoya on June 1
night, with crew having to hold
it down to prevent it being blown
away by the wind.
#Si2 is safe in the mobile
hangar! @solarimpulse tweeted
yesterday, saying support staff
had worked through the night to
put together the sections of an
inflatable tent that looks a little
like a series of connected igloos.
Solar Impulse 2 is on a recordbreaking attempt to circumnavigate the globe using the power of
the sun, to highlight the uses of
renewable energy.
The seventh leg of its epic
mission was intended to be the
8500 kilometres (5250 miles)
from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii
a journey set to take six days and
six nights of non-stop flight.
But a developing cold weather
front in the Pacific forced mission controllers to order pilot
Andre Borschberg to divert to
Nagoya, unexpectedly adding Japan to the tour.
In a telephone interview on
June 2, mission initiator Bertrand Piccard said crew members

We need a clear
meteorological
window. The plane
can only fly in nice
weather.
Bertrand Piccard
Solar Impulse 2 pilot

had been holding on to the delicate solar craft since it arrived in

Nagoya.
The plane has a huge surface area and is very light, with a
take- off speed of just 45 kilometres [28 miles] an hour, so with
gusts of wind like today you really need to hold on to it, he said.
Now, all eyes were on the
skies and when they would get
their next chance to attempt the
vast distance across the Pacific.
We want to carry on as soon
as possible, and leave Nagoya before the rainy season, said Mr
Piccard.
Japans month-long rainy season is already under way in the
far south of the country, and is
expected to advance northwards
over the coming days.
We need a clear meteorological window. The plane can only
fly in nice weather, except when
it flies at high altitude, above the
clouds, Mr Piccard said.
AFP

CAPE TOWN

Mood
upbeat at
African
Davos
GROWING optimism over Africas
economic future drew more than 1250
delegates from governments and international corporations yesterday to
the threeday African Davos in Cape
Town, the World Economic Forum said.
The offshoot of the annual WEF
meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos,
which brings public and private business leaders together, is celebrating its
25th anniversary with an upbeat outlook as growth across Africa outstrips
the global average.
The record levels of participation
at this years gathering can be seen to
reflect both an optimism in the economic prospects of the region and an
unprecedented commitment ... to pursue publicprivate cooperation, the
WEF said.
A report to be presented to the
conference by international investment company JLL says Africa sits at
the centre of many corporate growth
strategies. Over the past decade and a
half alone, Africas economy has grown
nearly 3 percentage points faster than
global GDP, the report notes.
Fuelled by an influx of foreign direct investment rapid urbanization
and an emerging middle class, African countries, including Mozambique,
Zambia and Ethiopia, are forecasted to
grow at a faster rate than many other
emerging economies.
It points out that while mining, oil
and gas remain a focus in Africa for
overseas investors, business services
now top the FDI sector list, followed by
manufacturing and sales. AFP

IN PICTURES

PHOTO: AFP

A Chinese worker rests on the roadside in Beijing yesterday. Chinas official

manufacturing index hit a six-month high in May but the industry still faces
multiple strains, the government said June 1, while a closely watched private
survey pointed to continued deterioration as the worlds second-largest economy
battles a broad slowdown.

14 THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

15

World

WORLD EDITOR: Kayleigh Long

Boko Haram releases

new video as suicide
bomber kills 13

Coalition pledges
to back Iraq in
fight against IS

WORLD 16

WORLD 17

BANGKOK

SEOUL

Thai officer turns himself in

following issue of arrest warrant

Korea moves: South test fires missile

SENIOR army adviser Lieutenant

General Manas Kongpan surrendered at the Royal Thai Police Office
in Bangkok yesterday morning to face
human trafficking charges.
He arrived with an army legal officer and met police chief Somyot
Poompunmuang about 11am. He was
then taken to the Provincial Police Region 9 office in the southern province
of Songkhla for interrogation.
The charges relate to migrant trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh through southern Thailand to
Malaysia, which blew up into a regional story after the discovery of dozens
of dead migrants bodies, including
many Rohingya, at detention camps
in border areas of Songkhla in May.
Police sought a warrant for the arrest of Lt-Gen Manas after a recent

search at the house of a human trafficking suspect in Ranong province

found details of alleged money transfers to the bank accounts of Lt Gen
Manas from March 2013 to February
2014.
The army adviser was charged with
human trafficking, smuggling aliens
and detention of migrants for ransom.
Lt-Gen Manas had reportedly told
journalists that he would surrender in
Songkhla on June 2, but he failed to
show up. He also said he would defend
himself in court.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon
said yesterday that when the alleged
offences occurred Lt-Gen Manas had
been a colonel at the southern forward
command post of the Internal Security
Operations Command. He had worked

SOUTH Korea yesterday test-fired

two ballistic missiles capable of hitting any part of North Korea, in an
apparent response to recent bellicose
boasts from Pyongyang about its nuclear and missile capabilities.
In an unusual move, President
Park Geun-Hye personally observed
the test exercise, a defence ministry
official said.
The military tested two homedeveloped, long-range missiles that
could hit any target in North Korea,
the official told AFP on condition of
anonymity.
The test came almost a month after North Korea said it had successfully tested a submarine-launched
ballistic missile (SLBM) a claim
which numerous experts said was
probably exaggerated.
A fully developed SLBM capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing
deployment far beyond the Korean
peninsula and giving it the potential
to retaliate in the event of a nuclear
attack.
As well as the SLBM test, Pyongyang recently boasted of its ability
to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to
fit on high-precision, long-range
rockets.
Experts also questioned that
claim, although there is broad agreement that the North is moving ahead
quickly with both its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The type of South Korean missile tested yesterday is capable of

hard and contributed much to the national interest, they said.

Police have 84 suspects in the human trafficking case, including many
local administrative officials. Fifty-one
are in custody and 33 remain at large.
Deputy police chief Aek Angsananont, who was present in the surrender of Lt-Gen Manas, said there was
no report that Lt-Gen Manas would
seek temporary release on bail.
Pol Gen Aek also said police were
awaiting the extradition of another
human trafficking suspect from Myanmar, Nathaphat Saengthong, also
known as Ko Mik.
The man was prosecuted for illegal entry to Myanmar and authorities
there were checking if he was involved
in human trafficking, the deputy police chief said. Bangkok Post

carrying a 1-tonne payload up to 500

kilometres (310 miles).
It was developed under an agreement reached in 2012 with the United
States to almost triple the range of
the Souths ballistic missile systems.
A similar missile was previously
tested in April 2014.
The United States stations 28,500
troops in South Korea and guarantees a nuclear umbrella in case of
any atomic attack.
In return, Seoul accepts limits on
its missile capabilities and had previously operated under a range and
payload ceiling of 300km and 500

kilograms (1100 pounds).

Given the ambitions of North Koreas own missile program, the South
had long argued for the limits to be
extended.
The 2012 agreement, which was
denounced as a provocation by
Pyongyang, allows the South to deploy missiles with a maximum range
of 800 km.
While the maximum payload
for that range remains 500 kg, the
two parameters are inversely
linked, so that for shorter ranges
corresponding payload increases are
allowed. AFP

This undated picture released from North Koreas official Korean Central News
Agency on June 2 shows Kim Jong-Un inspecting the Wonsan baby home
and orphanage in the run-up to a ceremony for their completion in Wonsan in
Kangwon province. Photo: AFP

Rescue personnel work at the scene near capsized passenger ship Dongfangzhixing or Eastern Star in the Yangtze river at Jianli in Chinas Hubei province on
June 3. Photo: AFP

BEIJING

Hope fades as rescue effort

continues on the Yangtze
Thai Army Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan is surrounded by police officers as he turns himself in at police
headquarters in Bangkok on June 3. Photo: AFP

PHNOM PENH

BEIJING

First Australia
refugees set to touch
down in Cambodia

Tornado
may have
hit ship

THE first group of refugees from

Nauru to accept resettlement in Cambodia under a controversial agreement signed with Australia last year
is expected to arrive today, according
to a government spokesperson.
Interior Ministry spokesperson
Khieu Sopheak said if there is no
change in plan, the refugees one
from Myanmar and three from Iran
will arrive in Cambodia tomorrow
morning, via a Malaysia Airlines
flight.
To my knowledge, I think that
its tomorrow morning, he said.
The four refugees who had previously been held on the Pacific island
of Nauru were flown secretly to Darwin in Australias Northern Territory
in early May and have been housed
at an immigration facility near the
airport ever since.
When they arrive, the refugees

A SMALL and fast-moving tornado hit

the area where a Chinese cruise ship
capsized leaving more than 400 missing, weather officials said, possibly
shedding light on the disasters cause.
Early investigations showed that
tornado winds in Jianli county in the
central province of Hubei had a speed
of more than 117 kilometres (72 miles)
per hour, Chinas state meteorological
bureau said on its website.
The report matches an account given by the captain of the Eastern Star.
The June 1 tornado lasted between
15 and 20 minutes and was about 1 kilometre wide, said forecasters.
It was regional, small-scale and
came all of a sudden, the report said.
Chief forecaster Yu Xiaoding was
quoted as saying that it likely ranked
above EF-1 or a moderately damaging tornado according to the widelyused enhanced Fujita scale. AFP

will be housed in villa-style accommodation, organised by the International Organization for Migration
(IOM).
They will also receive intensive
Khmer language and cultural and social orientation, as well as education
services, health services, [and] employment services, the IOM said in a
statement earlier this month.
An IOM spokesperson said on
June 2 the organisation had not
been told of any arrival date.
Australia last week stumped up
an additional A$15.5 million (US$12
million) for services to support the
settlement of refugees in Cambodia, including health, education and
training services.
The money comes on top of an
original pledge of A$40 millionc in
aid to Cambodia.
Phnom Penh Post

RELATIVES of more than 400

people missing after a cruise
ship capsized on Chinas Yangtze
river were hoping for a miracle
yesterday as authorities said they
were racing against time to find
any survivors.
State media said just 14 people have been rescued from the
Eastern Star which overturned
late on June 1 in a storm, leaving
just a section of its hull protruding
from the murky waters.
Another 19 bodies have been
recovered, state broadcaster CCTV
said, leaving hundreds of mostly
elderly passengers still missing
and possibly trapped within the
ship, which witnesses said sank in
a matter of seconds.
A total of 456 people had been
on board the vessel, which was
plying a popular tourist route from
the eastern city of Nanjing to the
southwestern city of Chongqing
when it capsized in Jianli county
in the central province of Hubei.
The ship has 150 compartments and divers are searching
each room one by one, CCTV said,
while authorities have expanded
the search area to include areas
around Wuhan, 220 kilometres
(136 miles) downstream.
Engineers are looking at the
possibility of cutting open the hull
in three places or lifting the vessel
into an upright position, the state

broadcaster said.
But divers searching for survivors face extremely difficult conditions.
The river water in the area
where the accident happened is
quite muddy and there is virtually
no visibility, Zhang Jianxin, vice
director of the transport ministrys
rescue department, said on CCTV.
Divers can only rely on touch
while submerging, searching and
rescuing.
Security forces had erected
a strict cordon about 2km from
the rescue site and propaganda
officials ordered all Chinese media outlets, except for the official
Xinhua news agency and CCTV, to
return home.
Yesterday foreign journalists
were allowed to join a tightly organised press tour on a boat that
sailed past the ship.
Some 36 hours after the accident, hopes for more survivors are
dwindling.
We are in a race against the
clock in the search, said Transport
Minister Yang Chuantang.
It happened suddenly and the
rescue has been quite difficult,
he said on June 2 as driving rain
hampered the search. As long as
there is the slightest hope, we will
make every effort and never give
up.
Relatives were also refusing to

abandon hope.
Im hoping for a miracle, Tan
Zhenxing, whose father worked
on the boat, told the China Daily
newspaper.
Early investigations showed the
area where the ship sank was hit
by a small and fast-moving tornado, Chinas state meteorological
bureau said on its website late on
June 2.
The word used by the bureau
can also be translated as cyclone,
but the account strongly suggested
it was a tornado.
The report matches an account
given by the captain of the Eastern Star, who said earlier the vessel was hit by a cyclone.
Rescuers pulled at least three
survivors from the wreckage on
June 2 after they cut through
part of the hull to reach the interior of the vessel, but then worked
through the night in vain.
Grim TV images showed what
appeared to be a dead woman
being pulled from the water, her
body already rigid.
Recent heavy rain brought by
the storm was complicating rescue
efforts.
Fields around the site were
badly waterlogged, and many of
the pathways used by rescue workers were ankle-deep in mud and
rainwater.
Emergency vehicles heading

out of a rescue centre set up on the

riverside had to pass through deep
water.
Passengers seemed to have
had little warning before the ship
sank. Zhang Hui, a 43-year-old
tour guide, told Xinhua he had 30
seconds to grab a life jacket.
The captain and chief engineer,
who were among the survivors and
were being questioned by police,
both reportedly said the ship was
caught in a freak storm.
A local man surnamed Wang
told AFP the storm was the worst
he had seen in years.
CCTV said the 250-foot
(76.5-metre) vessel had floated
3km down river after it capsized.
Local reports said the passengers
were mostly aged over 60.
Condolences came from the
United States, the European Union
and the UN.
In Shanghai, where 97 of the
passengers came from, the local
government had set up a reception
centre for relatives.
On June 2 the relatives had
complained about a lack of
information on the fate of their
loved ones.
Shanghai had sent government
representatives to the accident
site, as well as a team of divers and
workers with salvage equipment,
local media reported.
AFP

PHNOM PENH

History repeating: Fears of a return

to severe drought as El Nio stirs
WITH the weather pattern known
as El Nio currently stirring up the
Pacific Ocean, experts are expressing
concern that parts of Cambodia may
soon face drought conditions that
could rival the devastating effects the
weather system brought nearly 20
years ago.
A cyclical changing of ocean temperatures that typically brings dry
weather in the Western Pacific, El
Nio was initially predicted to occur
in 2014, but the weather pattern has
only officially taken shape this year,
with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology upgrading its El Nio-Southern
Oscillation tracker on May 12.
Droughts caused by El Nio in
1997 and 1998 caused mass food
shortages in Cambodia, prompting
officials to call for donations to help
meet a 250,000-tonne rice shortfall.
While experts say its still too early
to determine the systems impact this
year, the outlook appears troubling.
When an El Nio occurs, they call
it a coupling between the ocean and
the atmosphere, said Ian Thomas, a
technical adviser with the Mekong
River Commission. Last year, it
didnt occur, [but] this year its happening very strongly.
Climate forecast models by the US
Climate Prediction Center suggest dry
conditions for this part of the world
during the months of May, June and
July.
At the same time, the current
drought conditions as monitored by
satellite in parts of Cambodia are already pretty darn bad and close to
record-breaking, Mr Thomas said. A

very large water deficit has already

built up. This really is a very bad time
to start going into an even harsher
drought event.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in its
food security country brief for Cambodia, made no mention of El Nio
or prospective drought conditions
for the country or its neighbours, despite it being published on the same
day the Australian BOM officially announced the event.
Rather, 2015 is forecast to yield a
near record level for rice production
in Cambodia, even though planting
season for rice begins in June, just
as El Nio-driven drought conditions
are predicted to take effect.
Assuming favourable weather
conditions, FAO forecasts this seasons rice output at 7.2 million tonnes,
up one percent from last years good
level, the report states. Similar forecasts were made for neighbouring
countries Thailand and Laos. In Thailand, for example, the FAO noted that
the main season rice crop, planted
from May to August, was being planted under favourable weather conditions, suggesting good harvests in the
face of a mounting El Nio.
The reality on the ground, however, is a different story. Lertwiroj
Kowattana, director general of Thailands Royal Irrigation Department,
told Reuters that water levels are the
worst in 15 years this year, with many
provinces already facing drought
conditions.
Furthermore, in Vietnam, coffee
farmers are reportedly facing extreme

drought, threatening that countrys

output for one of its most valuable
crops.
The FAO in Cambodia did not respond to inquiries for a response by
press time.
But without preparation, some experts warn, a similar fate could be in
store for Cambodia.
This year we are not sure what
will happen ... [But] we have already
told farmers to be prepared for a
drought, said Yang Saing Koma,
president of the Cambodian Centre
for Study and Development in Agriculture.
Mr Koma said the situation is already very serious in Kampong
Speu, while there are some droughtlike conditions in Takeo as well.
His organisation is encouraging
farmers to take water-saving measures
in the event of an intense dry spell.
Using water vats to collect rainwater
and digging small ponds are among
the methods employed by small-scale
farmers to help secure water supplies.
[This is] to minimise risk and to help
farmers adapt to produce food. Water
is most important, he said.
Mr Thomas warned that this years
El Nio could potentially be worse
than the one that struck Cambodia in
1997 and 1998, when late rains, combined with insects, devastated crops
and left thousands short of food.
None of it looks good. It looks very
much like a classic type of El Nio,
the kind we had in 1997 and 1998,
he said. It looks like it may even be
stronger than that. Were going into it
at the wrong time. Phnom Penh Post

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Johnson & Johnson, a corporation organized and existing under
the laws of the State of New Jersey, U.S.A., of One Johnson &
Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08933 U.S.A., is
the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

STIMZADA
Reg. No. 18852/2014

in respect of Intl Class 5: Human pharmaceutical preparations.

Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for Johnson & Johnson
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 4 June 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Eisai R&D Management Co., Ltd., a Company incorporated
in Japan, of No. 6-10, Koishikawa 4-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo,
Japan, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

Lenvima
Reg. No. 20856/2014

in respect of Pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of

oncological diseases.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for Eisai R&D Management Co., Ltd.
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 4 June 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Keppel Land Hospitality Management Pte Ltd, a company
incorporated under the laws of Singapore, and having its principal
place of business at 1 Harbourfront Avenue, #18-01, Singapore
098632, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following
Trademarks:-

16 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA

Boko Haram releases

video after bombing
BOKO Haram released a new video
yesterday rejecting claims they have
been routed in a four-nation offensive,
while a suicide bomber killed 13 people
in the Islamists northeast stronghold.
The video published online and
the bombing in the Borno state capital
Maiduguri came as Nigerias new president Muhammadu Buhari met security
chiefs in Abuja after vowing to crush
the uprising.
The 10-minute message released on
YouTube was the first video from the
Islamist militants since February and
did not show leader Abubakar Shekau.
Mr Shekau, who has been accused
of war crimes, has appeared in most of
the insurgents messages over the past
three years and his absence raises immediate questions on his whereabouts.
Mr Buhari yesterday began his first
foreign trip abroad since his inauguration last Friday, visiting Chad and
Niger, which with Cameroon are key
partners in the battle against the rebels, whose insurgency has claimed at
least 15,000 lives since 2009.
The video bore the logo Islamic
State in West Africa and comes after
Mr Shekau in March pledged allegiance in an audio message to the IS
group that has overrun large parts of
Syria and Iraq.
An unidentified man pictured in
front of two pickup trucks speaks with
his face obscured by a headscarf and
with an AK-47 rifle resting on his chest.
The armies claim through the media that they captured our towns and
that they assaulted Sambisa [forest]
and defeated us, he said, referring to
the bushland area Borno that has been
an Islamist stronghold.
I swear by Allah that I am talking
right now from Sambisa, he added,
speaking in the Hausa language that
is dominant in northern Nigeria with
Arabic and English subtitles shown
below.

A Nigerian soldier inspects the site of a suicide attack at a busy cattle market in
the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on June 2. Photo: AFP

Here in Sambisa you can travel

more than four to five hours under the
black flag of Islam by car or by motorbike ... We are uncountable in Sambisa,
he added, dismissing reports of the insurgents defeat as false propaganda.
There was no immediate response
from the military.
Mr Shekau was not referenced at
any point a major departure from
past Boko Haram statements.
Analysts have typically viewed Boko
Haram as a factionalised group, with
a relatively weak central command
structure and it is possible Mr Shekau
has been marginalised if not killed.
But solid information on power
struggles within Boko Haram has been
scant to non-existent, so the make-up
of the group is largely unknown.
The attack in Maiduguri saw a
bomber blow himself up in a busy cattle market at about 1pm (1200 GMT).
Northeast Red Cross spokesperson
Umar Sadiq said 13 people died and 24
others were injured.
Were trying to sift human bodies
from carcasses of cattle that are strewn
all over the place, Shettima Bulama, a

civilian vigilante assisting the military

against Boko Haram, told AFP.
There was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the latest attack but
it bore the hallmarks of the group and
Mr Bulama said the victims were carefully targeted.
The attack came after Boko Haram
militants again pounded Maiduguri
with rocket-propelled grenades in the
early hours of June 2.
A suicide bomber also blew himself
up at a mosque on May 30, killing 26
worshippers and injuring 28 others.
Mr Buhari last week announced
that the militarys counter-insurgency
command and control centre would be
moved to Maiduguri from the capital,
Abuja, until Boko Haram is defeated.
The Islamists struck hours after Mr
Buhari was sworn in.
After the meeting in Abuja, top military brass told reporters they would
aim to make Mr Buharis new command centre operational soon.
Its a presidential directive. We
must come back as quickly as possible,
said Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral
Usman Jibril. AFP

DIFFA, NIGER

Border town riven by Boko Haram

SEDONA
Reg. No. 4/435 /2015

Reg. No. 4/436/2015

Reg. No. 4/437 /2015

Reg. No. 4/438 /2015

in respect of Intl Class 43: Hotels services, hotel accommodation

services, reservation services for hotel accommodation, room hire,
provision of conference facilities, banqueting services, bar, cafe
coffee shop, lounge services, food and cooking services.
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said
Trademarks will be dealt with according to law.
U Nyunt Tin Associates International Limited,
Intellectual Property Division
Tel: 959 4500 59 247, Email: info@untlaw.com
For Keppel Land Hospitality Management Pte Ltd
Dated: 4 June, 2015.

A SOLDIER in fatigues furiously pedals his bicycle through the alleyways

of Diffa, puffing away after the biggest
town in southeast Niger banned motorcycles vehicle of choice of jihadists.
Situated on the border with northeastern Nigeria, the heartland of
Boko Haram insurgents, Diffa is on
high alert since it was attacked in
February.
Banning motorbikes like those reportedly used by the Islamists in their
Diffa assault is just one of several
emergency measures taken by
authorities in the region to boost
security.
Gone are the hundreds of motorcycle taxis known as kabu-kabu that once
chugged across town day and night.
Dozens of rusting two-wheelers
also lie abandoned on the road linking
Bosso which also came under Boko
Haram assault and Malam Fatori, a
Nigerian town across the border retaken from the militants in April.
There havent been any attacks
since we stopped motorbikes from
circulating. The people can sleep well,
Diffas governor Yacouba Soumana
Gaoh said.
The official acknowledged that the
travel restrictions had cost some kabu-kabu drivers their livelihoods, but
claimed those who want us to let them
go back to work are pro-Boko Haram.
Boko Harams assaults on Diffa and
Bosso were unsuccessful. But a subsequent raid in April on an island in
Nigers side of Lake Chad, in which 74
people were killed, showed the country
remained vulnerable.

The jihadists bloody six-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria and bordering areas of neighbouring countries
has killed over 15,000 people.
Now, as security improves in Niger,
some of the residents who had fled are
returning, and the market in Diffa is
back in business.
But that doesnt mean life has gone
back to normal. There are barely any
students here, there is no one on the
streets, and army soldiers are everywhere, one trader complained.
Hundreds of police and soldiers
from Niger and neighbouring Chad,
and some of the French troops deployed in the region since August 2014,
throng the scorching-hot, sandy Sahel
town.
A strict curfew means no cars or
other vehicles are allowed to circulate
after 8 pm. People are allowed to walk
on the street, but very few take the risk.
By night, we hear machine-gun
fire, which are often warning shots,
a UN source said, speaking to AFP on
condition of anonymity.
The heavy military and police
presence aims to send a reassuring
message but some people in Diffa fear
Boko Haram fighters are still slipping
across the border, mixed in among the
thousands of Nigerian refugees fleeing
to Niger.
In this asymmetric war, we dont
know who is who. The shopkeeper
where you buy your groceries might
be arrested tomorrow, another UN
worker said.
As a precaution, the entrances to
state institutions, including the police

station and the town hall, are barricaded by old tyres and sandbags.
In the heart of a residential neighbourhood, a military vehicle mounted
with a machine gun stands guard.
Human rights activists have criticised the militarisation of the area and
widespread paranoia.
The atmosphere is poisonous,
said Boureima Kiari of the local NGO
Alternative Espaces Citoyens, which
promotes human rights and good governance.
As soon as you criticise the
authorities, they can accuse you of being a Boko Haram accomplice, Ms
Kiari said, deploring a lack of freedom
of expression.
Civil society groups have also
condemned the arrest of hundreds
of people suspected of Boko Haram
links. Some of the detainees have
disappeared, they say.
In the beginning, Boko Haram
was not hidden from sight. Everyone
knew who its members were and what
mosques they frequented, another activist said.
Four months after the start of a
regional fightback against Boko
Haram, Niger and Chad claim to have
gained the upper hand in Diffa.
Colonel Moussa Salou Barmou, who
commands Nigers troops in the region,
is nonetheless convinced Boko Harams
days are numbered.
They mobilised nearly 2000 men
to surround ours. Thats why they had
the advantage... But in terms of pure
firepower, they just dont match up, he
said. AFP

World 17

www.mmtimes.com
PARIS

Coalition pledges support for Iraq on IS

IRAQS allies have pledged support for
Baghdads plan to retake the city of
Ramadi from Islamic State jihadists,
whose advance Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi described as a failure for the
global community.
The US-led coalition, which has
been carrying out air strikes against IS,
also called for the speedy launch of efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, which
it said was crucial to tackle the group
rampaging through Syria and Iraq.
But despite a series of battlefield
wins by IS, the coalition maintained it
had a winning strategy and gave its
seal of approval to Iraqi plans to claw
back territory at crunch talks in Paris.
US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, standing in for the hospitalised John Kerry in Paris, hailed
Baghdads strategy as the right plan
both politically and militarily for Iraq
at this time.
He insisted the coalition had made
real gains and said the Islamic State
now had 25 percent less territory than
when the air strikes began in August.
Experts, however, say the militant
group nevertheless controls an area the
size of Italy across Syria and Iraq.
Baghdad has been fighting to wrest
back Ramadi, the capital of Iraqs largest province Anbar, since the shock loss
to IS last month the worst defeat for
the coalition since it formed nearly a
year ago.
Under the emergency plan adopted
by Mr Abadis cabinet, Baghdad hopes
to mobilise and arm the Sunni tribes
of Anbar province, which they have
previously been loath to do out of
fears they could turn on the Shiite-led
government.
Mr Abadi also plans to ensure all
Sunni and Shiite militias are operating
under the governments authority, to

Iraqi relatives grieve during the funeral of members of the security forces who were killed on June 2 in a suicide attack on
an Iraqi police base north of Baghdad that killed at least 37 people. Photo: AFP

avoid stoking sectarian tensions.

The loss of Ramadi as well as the
historic Syrian city of Palmyra days
later raised questions about the effectiveness of the coalitions strategy.
But Mr Blinken insisted, In Iraq
right now we have the right strategy, a
combination of air strikes, training and
effective global partners.
The rout of Iraqi security forces in
Ramadi also led to a diplomatic spat
as US Pentagon chief Ashton Carter

said there was an issue with the will

of the Iraqis to fight, in comments that
deeply angered Baghdad and forced
Washington to apologise.
Mr Abadi himself called for more
from his partners, saying most IS fighters were foreign and therefore an international problem.
There is a lot of talk of support for
Iraq. There is very little on the ground,
he told reporters before the Paris
meeting.

He said that roughly six out of 10 IS

fighters were foreign, with the remainder Iraqi.
The international community has
to explain why so many terrorists are
from Saudi Arabia, why so many from
the Gulf, why so many from Egypt, why
so many from Syria, and Turkey and
from European countries, he said.
Mr Abadi continued, There is a
lack of intelligence. We are trying very
hard on our part but this is a transna-

tional organisation ... This is a failure

on the part of the world.
Separately on June 2, French Prime
Minister Manuel Valls said 110 jihadists
who left French territory to fight alongside IS had died Iraq and Syria.
Mr Abadis criticism came as IS
claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Iraqi police base north of
Baghdad on June 1 that killed at least
37 people, mostly officers.
Officials also said on June 2 that the
groups fighters have closed the gates of
a dam in Ramadi, posing a humanitarian and security threat.
While the focus of the Paris meeting
was the crisis in Iraq, the ministers also
talked about neighbouring Syria where
IS is wreaking havoc.
They said that with the continued
deterioration of the situation in Syria
and the inability and unwillingness
of [Bashar al-Assads] regime to fight
Daesh [IS] it was urgent to find a political solution in Damascus.
In a joint statement, coalition representatives called for the speedy launch
of a UN-facilitated, genuine and inclusive political process in Syria.
Aside from diplomatic support,
Mr Abadi said Baghdad was in need
of weapons and ammunition to battle
IS, adding that most of his countrys
weapons contracts were with Russia
or Iran, which are both under Western
sanctions.
The suicide attack against the police base slowed an operation to retake
Ramadi, but Mr Abadi said his troops
counter-offensive was advancing quite
quickly.
He insisted Iraqis are prepared to
fight and said he was investigating
why some local commanders issued
commands for the forces to withdraw
during the IS attack on the city. AFP

DOHA

US-Iran talks still in deadlock, weeks out from June 30 deadline

A NUCLEAR deal with Iran will significantly reduce Tehrans enrichment
capacity, US Vice President Joe Bidens
national security adviser has told a
conference in Qatar.
Colin Kahl, speaking at the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, said the
current deal being hammered out was
the best on offer, despite many sceptical voices in the US and elsewhere, including Gulf Arab states.
Under the deal we are negotiating ... Irans enrichment capability will
be substantially rolled back, said Mr

Kahl.
The deal we are negotiating makes
us and the region safer.
The ongoing talks to finalise a nuclear accord between Iran and world
powers, including the US, are deadlocked weeks ahead of a deadline.
Negotiations at the weekend in
Geneva, Switzerland, failed to bridge
differences between Washington and
Tehran, especially over the crucial issue
of inspections of military sites.
Other sticking points remain,
including the possible military

dimensions of the Iranian nuclear program and the demands by the P5+1
group for UN inspections of Iranian
military bases.
A deadline has been set for June 30
to reach an agreement that would see
Iran curtail its nuclear ambitions in return for a lifting of sanctions.
After three decades of enmity, any
accord would pave the way to bringing
Iran back into the fold and potentially
create fresh impetus to resolve a host of
conflicts in the Middle East.
On April 2, Iran and the P5+1

as the US and its partners are known

agreed to the main outlines of a nuclear deal, with Tehran agreeing to rein
in and mothball large sections of its
atomic program.
But differences remain, with both
the US and Iran under immense pressure from hardliners not to make major concessions.
Since the April 2 accord, technical
experts have been meeting behind the
scenes.
Mr Kahl said on June 1 that today
it would take Iran two-to-three months

to produce enough fissile material for

one bomb.
But despite criticism he said a negotiated settlement was the best solution.
In the absence of comprehensive
agreement to deal with this challenge
and constrain Irans program, Iran
would likely install and begin operating tens of thousands of fissile centrifuges in the near future, he added.
The forum is a three-day long
conference involving politicians, policy
advisers and academics from across
the Middle East and the US. AFP

18 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

PARIS

Pioneering supermarket anti-waste

proposal readies to go Europe-wide
A LOCAL councillor whose zealous
anti-waste campaign led to a French
law forcing supermarkets to give leftover food to charity is now preparing a petition to take the legislation
Europe-wide.
And he doesnt plan on stopping
there.
Arash Derambarsh, 35, whose parents fled the Iranian revolution to
France where he was born, says he
is driven by rage and the memory
of struggling to fill his stomach as a
poor law student.
His plan is simple: reducing world
hunger by getting supermarkets to
stop dumping their unwanted food.
You can say its naive, you can say
it is idealistic, but what I am proposing is realistic, he told AFP.
French lawmakers voted in May to
stop supermarkets from discarding
leftover food, tonnes of which ends
up in dustbins every day.
Stores bigger than 400 square metres (4300 square feet) will be forced
to sign contracts with charities by
July 2016 to take their unwanted
food, or face fines of up to 75,000 euros (US$82,000).
Food not fit for consumption will
have to be used for animal feed or
compost.
But it is the part of the law that
forces stores to give unwanted food to
any association who asks for it that
Mr Derambarsh considers his personal victory.
The local councillor in the town
of Courbevoie just outside Paris in
January launched his petition on the
website change.org demanding such
a law, which got some 211,000 signatures and caught the governments
eye.
Mr Derambarsh is now launching
the petition throughout Europe next
week.
Faced with rampant waste, Mr Derambarsh took action after realising
that many in need do not go to food
banks, either out of shame or because
they do not qualify.
So now you are too rich to be

poor, he said, adding that workingclass French people who earn the
minimum salary of around 1500 euros (US$1600) monthly struggle to
get by.
When Mr Derambarsh approached a big supermarket chain to
see if he could pick up unwanted food
and give it to the poor at the end of
the day, avoiding the need for storage,
it refused.
They prefer putting bleach on the
food, he said, referring to the technique by which some supermarkets
destroy food to deter those who rummage through their bins, out of fear
that if anyone gets sick they would
face legal action.
Derambarsh finally got the green
light from another supermarket and
the success of his idea pushed him to
launch a petition.
I started like Forrest Gump running all alone and now people are
coming along with me.
While the law has largely won
praise, some have reservations
about the logistics of putting it into
practice.
It is fine to forbid [discarding
food] but you need to organise collection, said Michel-Edouard Leclerc,
head of a major French supermarket
chain.
While several nations have information campaigns or strict recycling
rules in South Korea you have to
separate out food from other garbage
and pay weight-based disposal fees
few have food waste laws.
Guillaume Garot, the deputy who
wrote a report on the topic for the
government, said the new legislation
will make France the most advanced
country in terms of fighting food
waste.
The only other part of the world
that forces supermarkets to give unwanted food to charity is southern
Belgium.
Global efforts to clamp down on
food waste have gathered steam in
response to UN statistics that onethird of food produced for human

Courbevoies right-wing local representative, Arash Derambarsh, in Courbevoie, outside Paris on January 26. The local
councillor, whose zealous anti-waste campaign led to a French law forcing supermarkets to give leftover food to charity, is
preparing a petition to take the legislation Europe-wide. Photo: AFP

consumption is lost or discarded.

Restaurants that cook with food
saved from the dustbin, cooking
classes to help citizens better use
their produce and applications to
share unwanted food have sprung
up everywhere from New York to
Copenhagen.
France is even trying to promote
le doggy bag in a country where
taking home restaurant leftovers is
met with raised eyebrows.
Another popular drive is saving
misshapen fruit and vegetables that
would be dumped for not meeting supermarket standards.
Frenchman Nicolas Chabanne
took this idea one step further and
created what he says is the worlds

first anti-food waste brand.

A year ago he began saving everything from contorted carrots to sillylooking strawberries and branding
them for sale in supermarkets under
his Gueules Cassees (Broken Faces)
logo of a grinning, one-toothed apple.
The logo has become a marker
which tells consumers: here you have
a product which is as good as the others. There is a small fault, but it tastes
just as good and costs 30-50 percent
less.
The project was so successful he
recently added other products like
cockeyed camembert from a dairy
farm in Normandy which was doing
away with 450,000 rounds of cheese
a year.

His logo also graces food products nearly at their best-before date
which would otherwise have been
cast aside by supermarkets loath to
disappoint consumers.
From Japan to Brazil, some 17
countries have expressed an interest
in the brand, which has rolled out in
5000 French supermarkets.
One of his clients, Nicolas Benz,
a cherry farmer from the south of
France, has gone back to raw-picking
cherries so the smallest no longer get
left behind in mechanised harvesting.
You know, a producer who waits
a whole year for his trees to bear fruit
only to throw it away ... It is demoralising, he said.
AFP

WASHINGTON

US passes new bill ending mass dragnet surveillance program

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has
signed into law landmark legislation ending the governments bulk
telephone data dragnet, significantly
reversing American policy by reining
in the most controversial surveillance
program since 9/11.
The bill was given final passage on June 2 by the US Senate, after being approved by
the House several days earlier.
The measure reauthorizes key national security programs that had lapsed
early this week.
Glad the Senate finally passed the
USA Freedom Act. It protects civil liberties and our national security, Mr
Obama said on Twitter shortly before
he signed it.
In a separate statement earlier,
Mr Obama chided lawmakers for the
needless delay and inexcusable lapse
in important national security authorities, in the days leading up to the
bills eventual passage.
My administration will work expeditiously to ensure our national security professionals again have the full
set of vital tools they need to continue
protecting the country, the president
said.
The bill halts the National Security
Agencys ability to scoop up and store
metadata telephone numbers, dates

and times of calls from millions of

Americans who have no connection to
terrorism.
It shifts responsibility for storing
the data to telephone companies, allowing authorities to access the information only with a warrant from a secret counterterror court that identifies
a specific person or group of people
suspected of terror ties.
Its a historic moment, Senator
Patrick Leahy, the senior Democratic
sponsor of the bill, said after the 6732 vote, describing the bill as the first
major overhaul of government surveillance laws in decades.
The vote follows days of sharp debate on the floor, with many Republicans split over their support for strong
counterterror measures and the need
for personal privacy protections in
the wake of former NSA contractor
Edward Snowdens bombshell revelations about the bulk data dragnet in
2013.
The fugitive Mr Snowden, alternatively seen as a villain by intelligence
backers and a hero by supporters of
stronger civil liberties, hailed the congressional action as historic.
Speaking by live video link from
Russia at an Amnesty International
event in London shortly before the
bill was passed, Mr Snowden called

efforts to end mass surveillance not

enough but an important step.
The Republican divisions, as well as
delay tactics by Senator Rand Paul, a
2016 presidential candidate, forced an
expiration of the bulk data collection
program and two other sections of the
USA Patriot Act, roving wiretap and
lone-wolf tracking authorities, all of
which expired at midnight on May 31.
The legislation that passed on June
2 would reauthorize the latter two
provisions.
The strong vote marked a stunning rebuke to Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, who sought in vain
to amend the bill.

Glad the Senate

finally passed the
USA Freedom Act.
It protects civil
liberties and our
national security.
Barack Obama
US president

One of the changes would have extended the transition period from six
months to a year from NSA storage to
telecoms storage of the data.
Another would have stripped out
a provision that declassifies rulings
by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court, a move critics
have argued would erode important
transparency that was built into the
Freedom Act.
The changes were rejected, with
at least 11 Republicans opposing
Mr McConnell to vote against the
amendments.
Mr McConnell decried the reform
bill as a step backward.
This is going to diminish our ability to respond to the myriad threats
we have today, he said in a provocative floor speech in which he accused
the Obama administration of withdrawing from leadership in the battle
against extremism.
It is also a resounding victory for
those who continually plot against our
homeland, Mr McConnell said.
The vote occurred against a backdrop of Republican infighting and tension about the bill.
House leaders had warned that any
change to the bill could delay its final
passage or even kill it, which would
have meant several national security

authorisations expiring for good.

Many major internet firms declared victory with the congressional
approval.
The USA Freedom Act realizes
hard-fought and much-needed wins
for internet users everywhere, including prohibiting the bulk collection of
user data, Yahoo said in a statement.
But Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, a Florida senator
who voted against the act, slammed it
as result of weak presidential leadership.
The USA Freedom Act weakens
US national security by outlawing the
very programs our intelligence community and the FBI have used to protect us time and time again, Mr Rubio
said.
Unfortunately, weak presidential
leadership combined with a politically
motivated misinformation campaign
have now left the American people
less safe than weve been at any point
since the 9/11 attacks, he added.
Hawkish Republican Senator John
McCain, who also voted against it,
added that a diverse array of possible
threats meant the intelligence community must have access to the vital
authorities and capabilities they need
to stop another terrorist attack before
it happens. AFP

THE MYANMAR TIMES June 4, 2015

it

ge
t

yo

gers o
n
i
f
n

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

A billboard advertises cream made from snail mucus in Seoul. Photos: Washington Post/Woohae Cho

In South Korea, skincare cosmetics

for men are big business

ANNA FIFIEld

HEN it comes to taking care

of his skin, Lee Woo-jung just
does the basics: toner, essence,
moisturiser and BB (blemish
balm) cream the tinted sun
cream that covers up flaws without being too
make-uppy.
This kind of beauty routine is standard
among image-conscious South Korean men in
their 20s which is to say, most South Korean
men in their 20s.
People look at me differently when I take
care of my skin, said Lee, 27, a gym owner. It
helps me when Im working because I have a
good image. When I approach other people,
they are more open to me.
Tall, with perfect hair and chiseled
cheekbones, Lee turned heads as he indulged an
impertinent reporters questions. His looks may
have been exceptional, but his skincare routine
was not.
South Korea has become famous in recent
years for skincare products for women, which
incorporate everything from regenerating snail
mucus to animal placenta. Now young and
some not-so-young men are also buying into
the beauty obsession that has swept this land,
boosting the nations already booming cheap
cosmetics business.
In South Korea, being young and active
are considered very attractive qualities. Youth
equals ability, said Eric Min, deputy editor in
chief at Luel, a glossy mens magazine with a
whole section devoted to grooming. Min, 41, has
bright, flawless skin with not even the faintest
wrinkle. So you get plus points here if you look
younger.
The South Korean beauty-product industry
boasts about US$10 billion in sales annually
through stores such as Nature Republic, Etude
House, Missha and Tony Moly. Exports to
China and Southeast Asia have been growing
at a rapid pace, and many tourists here head
straight for these shops.
South Korean beauty routines for women
involve a confounding array of steps, involving
multiple cleansers, potions and creams. Does
the essence go on after the serum but before the
emulsion?
As the womens market has become
saturated, beauty companies have been stepping

up their marketing to men.

Its a huge prospect in South Korea and
increasingly in other parts of Asia, thanks to the
phenomenal popularity of Korean dramas and
music where the masculine ideal of beauty
might be described as metrosexual in the
West.
More than 10 percent or $1.5 billion of
domestic beauty-product sales are now coming
from products for men. The mens market has
been growing at about 9pc each year for the
past four years, said Kang Jae-joon, head of
equity research in Korea at the investment
manager Franklin Templeton.
The most popular products for men include
skincare preparations toners, essences and
lotions and pencil kits for filling in the
eyebrows. BB cream is also popular it can
be passed off as sunblock although the Iope
brand makes a version of its famous cushion
foundation compact for men.
Innisfree, another popular brand, even puts
out a line of brown, green and black facepaint
for army conscripts called extreme power camo
cream, with tea leaf extract for soldier that is
gentler on the skin than the standard-issue stuff.
There are numerous websites where men
demonstrate how to apply make-up so it looks
natural, and how to transform themselves from
scruffy to smooth.
While face products for men are not an
entirely foreign concept in the United States
brands such as Lab Series and Clinique, both
owned by Estee Lauder, offer lines for men its
nowhere near the scale seen here.
In South Korea, getting ahead is not just
about having a good rsum but a good
complexion to go with it.
Korean society is very competitive, and for
young men to improve their career chances
and while looking for a girlfriend, looking good
helps their competitiveness, said Kang, 48, who
says he uses mask packs to care for his skin
after doing outdoor sports.
Kangs colleague Oh Se-bom, 32, has a much
more complicated skin-care regimen involving
anti-ageing products such as eye cream. He said
Korean cosmetics companies realised they had
left half the domestic market untapped.
For Korean companies, the mens cosmetics
market is like a blue ocean, Oh said. So theyre
all strengthening their lines.
Representatives of Innisfree, part of Amore

Advertisements for cosmetic brand Body Shop with South Korean actor Kong Yoo are displayed in a
shop at Myeongdong shopping street in Seoul.

Pacific, one of South Koreas largest beauty

companies, were scouting for new customers at
a baseball game on a recent sunny Sunday.
As the Doosan Bears played the Kia Tigers,
Innisfree was holding a promotional event in
the stands. Women in white Innisfree uniforms
handed out samples of sea salt cleanser and a
seven-day trial-size toner from the new Forest
line for men.
There are a lot of people in our target
demographic here, said Lim Chae-dok, a
marketing executive at Innisfree who was
overseeing the baseball promotion, referring
to men in their 20s and 30s. The Forest brand
isnt well-known yet, so while theyre enjoying
the baseball game, they can also absorb our
message.
For men, cosmetic sampling is really
important, Lim said. A lot of men dont choose

their own products. They just take what their

girlfriend gives them, he said.
Innisfree would not provide details of its
sales but said it offers 30 products for men.
Since strengthening brand communication for
the mens line, it has seen 13pc growth in new
customers, the company said.
A 37-year-old office worker named Choe Yongson was watching the game with his family.
During my military service, my skin got
really ruined, so I started using my moms
products, her special moisturisers, said Choe.
He now uses his own toner and moisturiser, as
well as sunblock, because my wife tells me to.
But its really just the minimum, he said.
I shouldnt tell you this, but after they get
married, Korean men dont really care that
much about their skin. Only before.
The Washington Post

the pulse 21

www.mmtimes.com

Myanmar short
film Forgiven
Sky to debut at
international film
festival in US

Director M Noles crew shoot on location. Photos: Supplied

ChiT Su
suwai.chit@gmail.com

T
A still from horror flick Forgiven Sky.

HANKS to the Wathan

Film Festival, first held
in 2011, we can get to
see foreign films just as
Myanmar filmmakers are
starting to have their movies seen
abroad.
Since 2011, most Myanmar
films exported overseas have been
documentaries that cover various
aspects of society, while shorts tend to
be fictional.
Forgiven Sky, directed by M Nole,
will be shown at the Eastern North
Carolina Film Festival in the United
States later this month, following its
showing in the Long Week of Short
Films Festival in Shanghai on May 31.
Shot in muted colour, the work is

intended to shock. Seven members of

the same family, including a pregnant
woman, are waiting their turn to be
killed depending on the number of
the playing cards they turn up. People
are waiting outside to take away the
bodies. No explanation is given for
the war or crime that might have
placed them in this situation. All
we see is the love they bear for each
other as they await their fate. Khine
Mye Thars moody, disturbing music
is a fitting backdrop as were shown
the faces of the men outside, waiting
for the bodies.
I got the idea from a newspaper.
There was a story about a man who
killed and cooked his enemies after
all his family members were killed
in a religious conflict in Africa. It
frightened me, but it also made me
see that conflict can turn good people

to evil once respect for human dignity

is lost, said Nole.
He shot commercial videos
and films before for entering the
entertainment industry, but now he
is happy to shoot short films and
documentary films.
Now that Ive created fiction, Im
not so interested in commercial work.
Rather than produce a film that will
make people buy things, I want to
create films freely according to my
own feelings, he said.
Movies of this kind are more
popular than they used to be, he says.
People hunger for films like this,
that make them think and give them
ideas.
The film was shown for the first
time at the 2014 Human Rights
Human Dignity Film Festival.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

LONDON

restaurant of three spanish brothers named worlds best, a second time

SPAINS El Celler de Can Roca was crowned the
worlds best restaurant on June 1, winning praise
for the collective genius of the three brothers
who run it.
It was the second time the Girona eatery has
topped the Worlds 50 Best Restaurant awards
in London, after taking the number one spot in
2013.
Joan, Jordi and Josep Roca each have their
own speciality: The first is head chef, the second
creates the desserts, while the third sibling is in
charge of the wine.
The awards, run by trade magazine Restaurant,
lauded the brothers combined talents as a holy
trinity.
Curiosity and creativity propel the Rocas
back to the top, read a statement on the awards
website.
This is a restaurant that has never forgotten
its humble roots, its sense of familial warmth, or
the need to serve remarkably delicious dishes and
outstanding wines.

Josep Roca said the award made the trio feel

happy, loved.
This recognition means that a lot of people
trust in us and our commitment to our values and
what gastronomy represents, Josep said.
The restaurant knocked Danish four-time
winner Noma down to third place, with Italys
Osteria Francescana taking the second spot.
The top 10 was rounded out by restaurants
in Peru, the United States, Spain, Britain, Japan,
Brazil and Thailand.
El Celler uses ingredients typical of its native
region of Catalonia, and is famed for its 14-course
culinary experience paired with wines and
sherries from the Iberian peninsula.
Joan Roca said he hoped the award would help
the local cuisine would gain visibility ... especially
the excellence in our particular area where we
operate.
The awards, which have run since 2002, have
become a reference point for the worlds foodies
but were hit by allegations this year of cosy deals

Chefs of the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, Nacho Baucells (left) and Hernan Luchetti (right), work
in the kitchen in Girona. Photos: AFP/Quique Garcia

between restaurants and jury members.

The contest is run by British media company
William Reed, and criticism has focused on the
methodology used to select the best restaurants.
The jury is made up of 972 independent
experts including food writers, chefs, restaurant
owners and gourmets in 27 regions.
Jury members choose their seven favourite
restaurants where they have eaten in the past 18
months.
Critics say the system is open to abuse since
the jury do not have to offer physical evidence of
having actually visited any particular restaurant.
Yet organisers hired the Deloitte consultancy
firm to oversee the voting, and say jury members
cannot vote on restaurants in which they have an
interest.
Nevertheless an internet petition against the
competition amassed more than 350 signatures,
including those of Frances Joel Robuchon and
Italys Giancarlo Perbellini, calling for sponsors to
boycott the opaque awards.

The jury members, appointed by backroom

politics, vote anonymously, without ever having to
justify their choice of a restaurant or even to prove
that they actually ate there! the petition read.
The bulk of the complaints against the contest
comes from France, which failed to make it into
the top 10 for the past two years and has never
managed to win first prize.
To respond to the criticism, a team from 50
Best travelled to Paris last month on a charm
offensive.
We are sometimes portrayed as anti-French
in France. We wanted to show that that is very
far from the truth, William Drew, editor in chief
of Worlds 50 Best Restaurants, said at a press
conference in Paris.
The award has been claimed five times by
Ferran Adrias El Bulli in Spain, which has since
closed, and four times by Rene Redzepis Noma,
housed in a former warehouse in Copenhagen.
The awards also have regional editions, with a
50 Best for Asia and one for Latin America. AFP

(Left to right) Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca receive the award for best restaurant during the Worlds 50
Best Restaurant Awards in London on June 1.

22 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES june 4, 2015

5th Art and Environment Festival in Yangon

NyeiN ei ei HTwe
nyeineieihtwe23@gmail.com
TOm BArTON
tom.a.barton@gmail.com
THE fifth annual Art and
Environment Festival Green Future
will be held from June 5 to 7 at
Summit Art Gallery, Utopia Tower,
Yangon, together with a celebration of
World Environment Day.
Ten artists will exhibit their works
and photos about the environment,
and nine poets will depict the current
environmental situation of Myanmar
by reciting poems. Musicians Saw
Ka Baw Htoo and Aung Soe Tint will
provide background and theme music.
The opening ceremony will be
held on June 5, World Environment
Day, from 10am to 12pm, featuring
talks by U Tun Lwin, a consultant
with Myanmar Climate Change

Watch, Grace Swe Zin Htaik, Khin

Than Pyu and Phyu Mon.
Event organiser artist Khin Than
Phyu said she had had to seek help
and funds from galleries because
there was no money for the festival.
Poets, musicians and other
participants helped with the festival,
and in the past the Alliance Franaise
helped with exhibition space. This
year, Summit gallery helped with
both space and costs, Khin Than
Phyu said.
Environment expert U Oha, who
normally plays a leading role in the
event, was this year indisposed.
The art displays were provided
by the Un Environment Program
(UnEP), and show the effects of
environmental devastation.
There is an alarmingly high
rate of unsustainable consumption
of resources, reports the UnEP, as

exemplified in the areas of food,

water and energy.
Today the human race consumes
resources the equivalent of 1.5
planets. If current consumption and
production patterns remain the same,
and with a rising population, we will
need two planets by 2030 to sustain
our ways of living and consumption.
UnEP explains that its Seven
Billion Dreams. One Planet.
Consume with Care theme urges
people to balance development with
sustainability. While allowing people
to continue pursuing economic
opportunities, care must be taken
in reducing resource use and
environmental impact.
For all seven billion of us,
says UnEP, our present and our
future depend on the sustainable
consumption of our planets
resources.

Jack Warner, ex-vice president of FIFA, embarrassed himself this week after
using a parody article from The Onion to support an attack on his critics.
Photo: AFP/Luis Acosta

Times The Onion was

lost in translation
AdAm TAylOr

O
The Green Future festival in Yangon from June 5 to 7 celebrates World Environment Day, and will feature talks by
environmental experts, an art exhibition and poetry. Photo: Shutterstock

n May 31, Jack Warner,

now a member of
parliament in Trinidad,
released a video statement
in a bid to defend
himself from bombshell allegations
of corruption during his time as a
vice president of FIFA. In his video,
Warner asked how he could be
responsible for any perceived culture
of FIFA and how Sepp Blatter, the
president of FIFA, could have been
reelected if FIFA was so bad.
But then, Warner stopped to make
his most dramatic point. And then I
look to see that FIFA has frantically
announced 2015 2015, this year
this year, Olympic final, and the
World Cup begins May 27.
Warner was holding up a printout
of an article from The Onion titled:
FIFA Frantically Announces 2015
Summer World Cup In United States.
As most American readers will know,
The Onion is a satirical publication.
This article was a joke. The US is
not hosting the World Cup in a few
months time.
Its certainly an embarrassing
mistake for Warner to make, but hes
far from the first person to make
such a gaffe. Here are six of the other
examples of The Onion convincing
foreign readers that America is even
more weird than it actually is.
A Chinese newspaper reported
that lawmakers were threatening
to pull out of Washington unless
they get a new Capitol with
features like a retractable
rotunda.
In 2002, the state-run Beijing Evening
News published an article based upon
the Onions Congress Threatens
To Leave D.C. Unless new Capitol
Is Built. While the Beijing Evening
News originally refused to run a
retraction, even challenging Western
reporters to prove that their article
was wrong, it later offered a printed
apology to readers.
Some small American newspapers
frequently fabricate offbeat news
to trick people into noticing them,
with the aim of making money, the
apology read. This is what The Onion
does.
A Danish TV station reported
that Sean Penn had written a
1900-word open letter to The
Washington Post to find out who
had registered SeanPenn@gmail.
com before he could.
The Web site of TV2, a major
television station in Denmark,
published an article in 2006 based
on an Onion article that said actor
Penn had written to The Post and
threatened a certain inconsiderate
a------ who had taken his name for
the e-mail address.

It is difficult to decide who is most

ridiculous, the article concludes. The
person who believed that he could go
be Sean Penn on the Internet, or Sean
Penn who is trying to create an email
address with his own name.
Two Bangladeshi newspapers
reported that Neil Armstrong had
admitted that the moon landing
was fake.
Both Daily Manab Zamin and New
Nation picked up a story published
by The Onion, titled Conspiracy
Theorist Convinces neil Armstrong
Moon Landing Was Faked, in 2009
without realising it was satire.
We thought it was true so we
printed it without checking, associate
editor Hasanuzzuman Khan said after
his paper apologised for the error.
We didnt know The Onion was not a
real news site.
A former Singaporean MP posted
an article to her Facebook about
Obama not wanting another term.
Lim Hwee Hua posted Obama
Openly Asks nation Why On Earth
He Would Want to Serve For Another
Term to her Facebook page in 2012,
apparently not realising it was satire.
Increasingly challenging
everywhere, whatever Obamas
campaign strategy might be, she
wrote in a comment, according to
screenshots. The post now appears to
be deleted.
Irans official FARS news agency
republished a fake poll published
in The Onion that said rural
whites preferred then-Iranian
leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to
Obama.
FARS apparently not only took The
Onions 2012 article Gallup Poll: Rural
Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama
as fact, they also took it word-for-word
and republished it, plagiarising a
satirical article in the process.
The Onion later added a line to
the bottom of their article: For more
on this story: Please visit our Iranian
subsidiary organization, Fars.
A Chinese state newspaper ran
a 55-page slideshow of pictures
of Kim Jong Un after The Onion
named him sexiest man of the year.
Chinas Peoples Daily apparently took
The Onions Kim Jong-Un named
The Onions Sexiest Man Alive For
2012 seriously and, in a bid to get
their own spin on the news, published
55 photographs of the north Korean
leader on their Web site.
Americans have been fooled by
The Onions stories, too: For example,
in 2012 Republican Congressman
John Fleming, R-La, posted a link
to an article on The Onion about an
US$8 billion Planned Parenthood
Abortionplex to his Facebook page.
The Washington Post

the pulse 23

www.mmtimes.com
TOKYO

UHRNOVICE

Godzilla gets residency in Tokyo

Fictional city-wrecking monster
Godzilla has been granted special
residency in tokyos Shinjuku ward,
as a newly installed model of the
lizards huge head proves a pull to
visitors.
Marking the emergence of the
12-metre-high [40-foot] Godzilla head
on a terrace on the eighth floor of
Shinjuku toho Building ... we issued
a special certificate of residence to
Godzilla, a Shinjuku official said.
the 30-floor commercial complex
has a hotel, cinemas, shops and
restaurants, and the newly installed
beasts head is visible to passers-by on
the street below.
afficionados can book a night in
hotel rooms with view of the monster
as it looms outside their window.
Shinjuku ward also appointed

Godzilla as a special envoy for tourism,

the official said.
anyone who goes to a ward
office can get a copy of the residence
certificate, which is normally used in
applications for passports or to register
a child at a local nursery school.
the 1954 movie Gojira a Japanese
portmanteau of gorilla and kujira
(whale) was a mega hit, drawing
9.6 million viewers in the days before
television sets were commonplace in
Japanese households.
it has since been through numerous
incarnations, including several done in
Hollywood.
Film studio toho, which owns the
rights to Godzilla, is planning a new
movie for release in 2016. that follows
a US$160 million box office success in
2014 for Warner Bros. AFP

A life-size Godzilla head appears on a balcony of the eighth floor of Hotel

Gracery Shinjuku at Kabukicho shopping district in Tokyo. Photo: AFP/Toru Yamanaka

ELAZAR SETTLEMENT

Israeli rabbi
peddles kosher
pleasure
tHEiR inspiration may be exotic the
Eiffel tower, the Statue of liberty,
Romes colosseum but rabbi natan
alexanders toys have a distinctly
domestic goal: giving orthodox Jewish
couples gratification without the guilt.
after studying religion and
becoming a rabbi in israel, alexander
turned his hand to online sex
counselling in a mission to spice up
the love lives of the faithful.
Giving pleasure to ones wife
is a religious obligation, he said.
Religious couples should be helped
to better live their sexuality.
He founded the Better2gether
website where observant couples
can peruse and purchase all sorts of
sex aids, safe in the knowledge the
products are kosher.
the online catalogue has an
architectural flavour, offering vibrators
modelled on landmarks including
londons Gherkin skyscraper, the
fronds of Palm island in Dubai and
the spires and domes of Saint Basils
cathedral in Moscows Red Square.
i want to offer these services
to allow religious couples access to
pleasure without breaking religious
laws, alexander explained.
While the products are the
same as those offered by sex shops
everywhere, they are supplied in
packages without the kind of racy
illustrations that offend orthodox
sensitivities.
the site offers online counselling
by what it says are professional sex
therapists, couples counsellors and
gynaecologists on issues which many
couples find hard to raise with their
rabbis.
Judaism gives an important place
to sexual pleasure but it is still too often
a taboo subject, said alexander. AFP

Self-service vending machine

pub enlivens tiny Czech village

SElF-SERVicE pub
offering local beer has
become a hit in a tiny
czech village where
touring cyclists mingle
with locals to help themselves to the
countrys favourite tipple.
ordinary pubs have no chance
to survive in a village like this, says
local homebrewer Martin Povysil,
who installed the beer machine
resembling a coffee or bank machine,
but with a tap on the outside wall of
the community centre in Uhrinovice.
normal pubs open in the
evenings and at weekends but they
are mostly closed during the day,
leaving your tourist or cyclist dry,
Povysil said, sitting at one of three
wooden picnic tables set up at the
open-air pub.
all beer lovers need to do is
grab a cup from the storage rack,
insert a coin and run their iD
through a scanner to prove they are
over the drinking age of 18 to help
themselves to a cool, crisp pint.
He believes his beer tap is one
of a kind.
this beer machine is unique,
ive seen something like this in
Japan and the USa on the internet,
but this version is completely
different, Povysil said.
it all started in 2013 when Povysil,
a 50-year-old bespectacled, ponytailed former salesman for a mediumsized czech brewery, started to make

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Aki Habara Electric Corporation Pte Ltd., a company organized
and existing under the laws of the Republic of Singapore and having
its principal place of business at No.1 Venture Avenue, #07-07,
Singapore 608521, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following
Trademark:-

AKIRA

Reg. Nos. 4532/1996, 6477/2009, 6478/2009, 3447 /2015

in respect of Washing machines; washing apparatus; Ironing machines;
sewing machines; dishwashing machines; polishing machines; cleaning
machines; blenders, electric for household purposes; coffee grinders,
other than hand-operated; can openers, electric; crushers/grinders,
electric (domestic); food processors [electric]; Food preparation
machines, electromechanical; fruit presses, electric, for household
purposes; grating machine for vegetables; kitchen machines, electric;
knives, electric; beaters, electric; vacuum cleaners; vacuum cleaner
hoses; machines and apparatus for polishing; engines, other than for
land vehicles; generators; generating sets for use with motors; parts and
fittings for the aforesaid goods; all included in Class 7.
Radios and cassette tape players and recorders; stereo hi-fi appliances
and instruments; amplifiers; audio speakers; televisions; video
tapes; video tape recorders and players; electric, laser disc players;
portable stereophonic tape playing apparatus adapted for use with
headphones; calculating machines; cameras [photography]; cameras
[cinematographic]; compact disc players; headphones and earphones;
sound and video recording, receiving transmitting and reproducing
appliances and installation; computers; video compact disc players (VCD
players); digital video disc players (DVD players); mini disc players/
recorders (MD players/recorders); car audio system and speakers;
karaoke apparatus; microphones, video displays; video projectors;
MP3 players and internet telephony equipment, telecommunication
equipment including cell/mobile telephones, normal telephones, longdistance telephones; weighing scales; digital cameras; plugs; socket
and other contacts (electrical connections); connectors; adaptors;
wires; satellite receivers; TFT LCD monitors and TV (wall hanging
type); home theatre system-speakers, amplifiers and DVD amplifiers;
automatic voltage regulators and voltage stabilizers; games for use with
television apparatus; games for use with computers; games adapted for

Martin Povysil, 50 year old former salesman for a medium-sized Czech

brewery drafts a beer from his mechanical self-service pub on May 26 in
Uhrinovice village, 130km from Prague in central Czech Republic. Photo: AFP

his own beer in his summer house in

Uhrinovice, a village of 75 people.
He launched the beer machine
the same year.
cyclists passing through the
village in central czech Republic
a country where people drank
a world-leading 144 litres of beer
per head in 2013 can also pour
themselves lemonade for the same
price as beer, set at 20 czech koruna
(US$0.80) a pint.
the machine made by a
technician from a nearby city cost

almost 50,000 koruna (US$2000),

says Povysil, who sells a 30-litre keg
on a rainy week but three 50-litre
kegs per week during the hot
summer months.
i have never counted the return
on investment. its haphazard,
depending on the weather and
peoples tastes, said Povysil, who
now relies on his microbrewery for
a living.
the locals love it. they enjoy
the beer, and the machine makes us
a community. AFP

use with television receivers; apparatus for games adapted for use with
television receivers; CD-Recordable, CD-RW Rewritable; parts and
fittings for the aforesaid goods; all included in Class 9.
Air conditioning appliances and installations; air cooling appliances;
ovens, other than for experimental purposes; bread toasters; coffee
percolators, electric; coffee machines, electric; cooking appliances
and installations; cooking, utensils, electric; freezers; grills [cooking
appliances]; hair driers; heating appliances, electric; kitchen ranges
[ovens]; water heaters; pressure cooking saucepans; stoves; toasters;
refrigerating appliances and installations; refrigerating appliances and
installations; refrigerators; ice boxes; gas cookers; built-in cooker tops;
electric cooker oven range; hot plates and induction plates; rice cookers
of large capacity (commercial); oven toasters; bread toasters; convection
ovens; waters heaters; house heaters; fans; electric kettles; water purifier;
water filters; slow cookers (electric); full range of lighting accessories
including bulbs; tubes, lamps; emergency lamps (lantern), table lamps,
ceiling lamps, torch lights; sockets for electrical lights; parts and fittings
for the aforesaid goods; all included in Class 11.
Reg. Nos. 791/2003, 6479/2009, 3448/2015
in respect of Engines, other than for land vehicles; generators;
generating sets for use with engines; generating sets for use with
motors, parts of motors and engines ( of all kinds); parts and fittings
for the aforesaid goods; all included in Class 7.
Reg. Nos. 792/2003, 6480/2009, 3449 /2015
in respect of Motor cars; motor cycles (all wheels); carrier tricycles;
motors for cycles; motors for land vehicles; engines for land vehicles;
baby prams; baby prams; baby strollers; bicycles; push carts; carts;
pushchairs; parts and fittings for the aforesaid goods; all included
in Class 12.
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trademark
will be dealt with according to law.
U Nyunt Tin Associates International Limited
Intellectual Property Division
Tel: 959 4500 59 247, Email: info@untlaw.com
For Aki Habara Electric Corporation Pte Ltd.
Dated: 4 June, 2015.

24 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 4, 2015

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

YANGON TO MANDALAY

MANDALAY TO YANGON

YANGON TO HEHO

HEHO TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Y5 775

Daily

6:00

7:10

Y5 233

Daily

7:50

9:00

YH 917

Daily

6:10

9:15

YH 918

Daily

9:15

10:25

W9 515

6:00

7:25

W9 201

Daily

8:40

10:35

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

9:20

W9 201

Daily

9:25

10:35

YJ 211

5, 7

6:00

8:05

YJ 891

1,2

8:40

10:35

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

9:30

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

9:35

10:45

YH 917

Daily

6:10

8:30

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:50

10:45

7Y 131

Daily

7:15

10:05

K7 223

1,3,5

9:45

11:00

YJ 891

1,2

6:20

8:25

K7 223

1,3,5

8:55

11:00

Y5 649

Daily

10:30

12:45

YJ 761

Daily

12:25

17:00

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

8:35

YH 918

Daily

8:30

10:25

YJ 751

12:10

7Y 242

1,3,5

15:55

18:45

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

8:40

6T 806

2,4,6

10:30

11:40

YH 737

1,3,4,5,6,7 11:00
3,5,7

11:00

12:25

K7 225

2,4,6,7

16:00

19:00

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

7:40

YJ 212

5,7

10:40

12:35

YH 727

11:30

12:55

YH 728

16:15

18:25

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

8:55

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

12:00

13:25

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

15:45

YH 738

3,5,7

16:25

18:35

W9 201

Daily

7:00

8:25

YJ 761

1,2,4

13:10

17:00

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

15:40

W9 129

1,3,6

16:55

19:10

W9201

7:00

8:25

YJ 602

15:40

17:35

W9 129

1,3,6

15:30

16:40

8M 6603

9:00

10:10

7Y 242

1,3,5

16:40

18:45

YJ 601

11:00

12:25

K7 225

2,4,6,7

16:50

19:00

YJ 761

1,2,4

11:00

12:55

YH 728

17:00

18:25

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

14:00

W9 152/W97152

17:05

18:30

YH 737

3,5,7

11:00

13:10

Y5 776

Daily

17:10

18:20

YH 727

11:30

13:40

W9 211

17:10

19:15

W9 251

2,5

11:30

12:55

YH 738

3,5,7

17:10

18:35

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

16:25

8M 6604

17:20

18:30

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

16:35

8M 903

1,2,4,5,7

17:20

18:30

Y5 234

Daily

15:20

16:30

YH 730

2,4,6

17:45

19:10

W9 211

15:30

16:55

W9 252

2,5

18:15

19:40

YANGON TO NAY PYI TAW

Flight

Dep

Arr

Flight

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

7:55

ND 910

1,2,3,4,5

7:15

8:15

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Y5 325

1,5

6:45

8:15

Y5 326

1,5

8:35

10:05

K7 319

1,3,5,7

7:00

9:05

6T 706

4,6

8:55

10:05

6T 705

4,6

7:30

8:40

7Y 532

2,4,6

15:35

17:40

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

13:20

K7 320

1,3,5,7

11:30

13:35

Y5 325

15:30

17:00

Y5 326

17:15

18:45

SO 201

Daily

8:20

10:40

SO 202

Daily

13:20

15:40

YANGON TO SITTWE
Days

K7 422

2,4,6

6T 611

Arr

7Y 413

1,3,5,7

Arr

8:00

9:55

K7 423

2,4,6

10:10

11:30

10:00

11:10

6T 612

11:30

12:35

10:30

12:20

7Y 414

1,3,5,7

12:35

13:55

Daily

7:00

8:00

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

12:55

W9 309

1,3,6

13:10

14:55

8:10

13:25

6T 611

1,4,5,6,7

11:45

12:55

6T 612

1,4,5,6,7

13:15

14:20

6T 611

12:00

13:10

6T 612

13:30

14:35

8:35

9:35

ND 107

11:25

12:20

ND 104

1,2,3,4,5

9:20

10:15

ND 109

1,2,3,4,5

14:55

15:40

ND 106

10:00

10:55

Flight

Days

ND 9109

1,2,3,4,5

17:00

18:00

ND 108

1,2,3,4,5

13:30

14:25

K7 422

2,4,6

ND 111

18:25

19:20

ND 110

17:00

17:55

7Y 413

1,3,5

SO 102

Daily

18:00

19:00

ND 9110

1,2,3,4,5

18:20

19:20

W9 309

1,3,6

7Y 413
Y5 421

NYAUNG U TO YANGON

YANGON TO MYITKYINA

Dep

1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4,5

Arr
7:20
7:45
7:40
7:50
7:50
17:25
17:10
17:35
17:40
17:35

Days

YJ 201
ND 9102

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

Flight

SO 101

11:40

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

Arr

Dep

10:45

Flight
YH 918
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 223
K7 225
W9 129
7Y 242

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

Dep
7:45
7:55
8:05
8:05
17:40
17:50
17:25

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

YANGON TO THANDWE
Dep

Arr

11:30

13:50

7Y 413

12:05

14:20

11:00

11:50

W9 309

1,3,6

14:05

14:55

Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

1,3,4,6

15:45

16:40

Y5 422

1,3,4,6

16:55

17:50

YH = Yangon Airways

DAWEI TO YANGON
Arr
13:25

YH 633

2,4,6

7:00

8:25

K7 320

1,3,5,7

12:25

13:35

SO 201

Daily

8:20

9:40

6T 708

5,7

14:15

15:15

6T 707

5,7

10:30

11:30

SO 202

Daily

14:20

15:40

6T 707

13:00

14:00

7Y 532

2,4,6

16:35

17:40

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

12:20

6T 708

16:45

17:45

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

LASHIO TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

13:00

YJ 752

3,5,7

16:10

17:55

YJ 751

3,5,7

11:00

13:15

YH 730

2,4,6

16:45

19:10

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

8:55

6T 806

2,4,6

9:10

11:40

YH 826

1,3.5.7

7:00

9:40

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

10:35

13:25

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

10:20

YH 827

1,3,5,7

11:30

13:55

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

1,3,5,7

7:00

10:35

YH 827

1,3,5,7

10:35

13:55

2,5

11:30

15:25

W9 252

2,5

15:45

19:40

YANGON TO PUTAO

18:15

16:45

19:40

W9 251

K7 = Air KBZ
W9 = Air Bagan

YJ = Asian Wings

Dep

15:25

7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines

11:30

12:15

Airline Codes

13:55

2,4,6

2,5

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

Fax: (+95-1) 532275

9:10

Days

YJ 234

Air Mandalay (6T)

11:35

Flight

W9 252

Tel:95(1) 533300 ~ 311

Fax : 95 (1) 533312

1,3,5

YH 634

14:25

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545

2,4,6

Arr

15:10

FMI Air Charter (ND)

7Y 413

8:10

11:30

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264

Fax: 652 533

K7 422

7:00

11:00

Yangon Airways (YH)

8:55

Dep

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020

11:20

Days

2,5

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999

Fax: 8604051

8:00

1,3,5,7

YJ 233

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

10:30

Flight

W9 251

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640

Fax: 532333, 516654

Days

K7 319

YH 826

Asian Wings (YJ)

Flight

YANGON TO LASHIO
MYITKYINA TO YANGON

Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (airport), 373766

(hotline). Fax: 372983

Arr

YANGON TO DAWEI

Flight

Air KBZ (K7)

SO = APEX Airlines

THANDWE TO YANGON
Dep

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

APEX Airlines (SO)

SITTWE TO YANGON

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Flight
YJ 211
YH 917
YJ 891
K7 222
7Y 131
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129
W9 211
W9 129

Dep

Air Bagan (W9)

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Dep

ND 105

YANGON TO NYAUNG U

MYEIK TO YANGON

Days

Flight

NAY PYI TAW TO YANGON

Days

YANGON TO MYEIK
Flight

Domestic Airlines

PUTAO TO YANGON

6T = AirMandalay
FMI (ND) = FMI Air Charter

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

the pulse 25

www.mmtimes.com

InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

Flights

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Days

Dep

Arr

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

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

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

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

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

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

8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
MH 743
AK 503

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

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

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

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

BANGKOK TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

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

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

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

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

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

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

AK 504
MH 740
8M 502
MH 742
AK 502

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

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

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

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

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

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

22:50

8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056

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

10:25
16:30
15:50

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

9:55

Flights

Flights

CI 7916
Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

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

13:15
16:15
22:15

CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712

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

Arr

16:15

Flights

CI 7915

Arr

Flights

CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

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

15:55
18:45
18:40

Dep

Arr

Days

MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Flights

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Arr

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

11:50
11:15
14:30

Dep

Arr

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

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

VN 942

VN 943

Flights

Flights

QR 919
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

2,4,7
14:25
YANGON TO DOHA

17:15

1,4,6
8:00
YANGON TO SEOUL

11:10

Arr

Arr

Flights

Flights

QR 918
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

KA 252
KA 250

Arr

Flights

Days

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

Arr

YANGON TO TOKYO

Flights

Days

NH 814

Daily

Dep

21:45

06:50+1

YANGON TO DHAKA

Flights

Days

BG 061
BG 061
Flights

Dep

1:30
1:10

1,6
4

Dep

15:35
13:45

YANGON TO INCHEON
Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Flights

Y5 251
7Y 305

8:05
12:50

2,4,6
1,5

YANGON TO GAYA

Flights

Days

8M 601
AI 236
Flights

Days

2
1,5

Dep

13:10
14:05

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days

AI 228
Flights

Dep

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

AI 236
AI 701
Flights

6:15
11:00

1,5

Dep

14:05

YANGON TO MUMBAI

AI 773

Days

1,5

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 710

Days

Daily

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE

Flights

MI 533
Y5 2233

Days

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

Dep

15:55
7:50

MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights

FD 245

Days

Daily

Dep

12:45

MANDALAY TO KUNMING

Flights

MU 2030

Days

Daily

Dep

13:50

NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 722

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

19:30

Arr

Arr

8:20
15:05
Arr

Dep

Days

Dep

Flights

9:25
13:45

GAYA TO YANGON
Days

Dep

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

2
1,5

Dep

9:20
7:00

KOLKATA TO YANGON
Days

AI 227

1,5

Dep

10:35

MUMBAI TO YANGON

AI 675

Days

1,5

Dep

6:10

BANGKOK TO MANDALAY

Flights

Days

Daily

Dep

12:00

SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY

Y5 2234
MI 533

Days

Daily
2,6

Dep

7:20
11:35

DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

Flights

15:00

FD 244

Arr

Flights

Arr

12:30
10:40

Days

2,4,6
1,5

Flights

Flights

22:30

Dep

INCHEON TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

16:40

1,6
4

AI 235
8M 602

PG 709

Arr

Days

15:40
Arr

14:55
13:05

Days

Daily

Dep

10:50

KUNMING TO MANDALAY

MU 2029

Days

Daily

Dep

13:00

BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

Flights

PG 721

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

17:00

Air China (CA)

Tel: 666112, 655882

Air India

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

Bangkok Airways (PG)

Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)

Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869

Condor (DE)

The view from the summit of Mt Hotham in Victoria, Australia.

Photo: Kham Tran/Wikimedia Commons

Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Dragonair (KA)

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

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Malaysia Airlines (MH)

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

Fax: 241124

Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305

Nok Airline (DD)

Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051

Qatar Airways (QR)

Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730

Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)

Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290

Arr

Arr

12:0
12:30
Arr

12:20
13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

16:30
15:00
Arr

12:15

Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

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

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

BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines

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

Subject to change
without notice

Arr

12:50
Arr

19:00

Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday

Skiing in Australia
on the cheap:
How to save money
on the slopes
James NormaN

Thai Airways (TG)

CZ = China Southern

Arr

10:15
14:35

16:30
20:50
14:15

11:00

Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

AK = Air Asia

Arr

Y5 252
7Y 306

Flights

Arr

Daily

Dep

DHAKA TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

Arr

TOKYO TO YANGON
Days

Arr

00:30+1
23:30

18:10
12:00

AI 235
AI 401

22:35

Dep

22:50
21:45

Arr

22:25
23:25

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

16:30
19:50
15:05

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

Flights

BG 060
BG 060

16:10
15:05

Days

NH 813

17:00
15:10

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

Flights

Tel: 09254049991~3

Vietnam Airlines (VN)

06:25+1

5:55
5:45

Flights

Air Asia (FD)

Arr

3,5,7
20:40
SEOUL TO YANGON

KA 251
KA 251

Tel: 255412, 413

Tiger Airline (TR)

13:25

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

All Nippon Airways (NH)

Arr

2,4,7
11:50
DOHA TO YANGON

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

International Airlines

4
5
6
7

=
=
=
=

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

hen I was a child of

maybe 10 years old
I vividly remember
having a calamitous
stack while skiing at
an Australian ski resort and losing my
left ski down a mountainside.
The thing that stays with me was
having to face my mum and dad back
at the ski lodge to explain why I had
returned to the lodge with a single ski.
At the time I didnt even think
about the expense it would have
incurred if wed had to pay for
a replacement set of skis (it was
eventually found) but as an adult
I marvel at how my parents ever
afforded to take us four boys away
to the snow every year on a skiing
holiday.
After all, everyone knows skiing
in Australia is an expensive pastime
sometimes even considered as
elitist sport. Ive worked out a few
tricks to keep costs down in what
is often considered to be one of the
most expensive ski destinations in the
world.
The best way to save serious
dollars on your ski trip is to come
prepared. Ive found that ski clothes
including waterproof jackets, gloves,
goggles and scarves are often for sale
in op shops in upmarket suburbs.
In fact, these stores often also
carry skis and boots, so shop around
and see what you can find (just be
sure to have the bindings safetychecked before you hit the slopes). If
you cant find what youre looking for
secondhand, consider also hiring your
gear before you leave for your trip
youll find everything is way cheaper
off the mountain.
nathan Fenton, online and
marketing officer for Falls Creek
resort, says if you plan to visit the
snowfields more than once in a
season you can also save a lot on lift
passes and resort entry by purchasing
a season pass during discount
periods.
A Falls Creek Season permit
[access to the slopes and carpark]
costs just A$290 [US$225] during
the early Bird sale period, which is

around the same price as a six-day

pass on the gate. The hero Pass
is also one of the best deals in the
country, giving season-long ski-lift
access to both Falls Creek and Mt
hotham in 2015 for under A$750 in
its sale period, he says.
Other resorts like Mount Baw Baw
and Thredbo offer much cheaper lift
tickets and accommodation options
and often still provide excellent skiing
opportunities depending on the
amount of snow in any given season.
Thredbo, for example, is offering
20 percent off lift tickets and gear
rental, organised seven days in
advance. Thredbo is also the only ski
resort in Australia with a YhA hostel
where rates start at around A$60 a
night.
nadia Fadel, who runs the Thredbo
YhA, says one of the big advantages of
staying in a communal hostel is that
you cook your own meals.
While there is nothing quite
like the feeling of being able to ski
home to your hostel at the end of
the day, theres no doubt that finding
alternative accommodation off the
mountain is a much more affordable
way to go. All-inclusive trips also
allow you to plan everything upfront
so you can remain within budget.
Skiing in the low-season is a less
expensive way to visit the snowfields,
said Steve Manning, centre manager
of the Jindabyne Sports and
Recreation Centre. The ski resorts
have also spent quite a bit of money
in snow making so theres usually
excellent snow conditions at both
ends of the season.
Lift tickets will be your biggest
expense on a ski holiday, and there is
no way to avoid being slugged with
day-ticket prices of up to A$130 a day.
But you dont need to go skiing all
day, every day to have a great holiday.
There are plenty of other activities
available these days in Australian
ski resorts from cross country
skiing in the Bogong high plains, to
tobogganing tracks, to breathtaking
walks around the beautiful national
parks, or even just sitting in front of
the fire at the ski lodge with a good
book and a steaming mug of hot
chocolate. The Guardian

26 Sport

THE MYANMAR TIMES june 4, 2015

Shooting

Floorball
Only Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand will compete in the womens floorball event after the late
withdrawal of the team from the Philippines.
Medal events at the Games normally require
four teams to proceed but organisers have insisted that despite the Philippines June 2 withdrawl the womens competition will commence
on June 9 as planned.
They told us about a week ago. Everyone,
all the other teams, are [very disappointed],
president of Singapore Floorball Sani Mohamed
Salim told Reuters, adding he was not aware of
the reason.
Singapores The New Paper reported Sani
hoped Indonesia might step in after being left
surprised by the late withdrawal.
They competed in the SEA Floorball Championships last December and finished third, and
I think they have a good chance of winning a
medal again here, said Sani.
Floorball, a fast-paced game ice-hockey-style
game played in sport halls and popular in Scandanavia is making its full Games debut after featuring as a demonstration event two years.
It is still to be determined whether the bronze
medal will be removed from the event.
The Philippines will still feature in the mens
competition, alongside Singapore, Malaysia and
Thailand.

An anonymous whistleblower has sent

a two-page letter to Yahoo Singapore alleging the pistol ranges that will host the
SEA Games competition are not safe and
uncertified for competition use.
Yahoo Singapore says the letter
claims bullets have been deflected and
caused bullet injury at Singapores National Shooting Centre.
Yahoo Singapore approached the venue
for comment ahead of the Precision Pistol
Competition it is due to host on June 7 and
8 and were told that Singapore Southeast
Asian Games Organising Committee is
preparing a statement.
When the statement was released it
made no direct reference to the allegations.
SINGSOC can confirm that the National Shooting Centre will be ready for
the 28th SEA Games Precision Pistol Competition when it begins on 7 June. We have
been working very closely with technical experts on the safety requirements to
ensure that the venue is fit for competition. SINGSOC is committed to providing
our shooters a safe and exciting platform
to compete in the 28th South East Asian
Games, the statement said.

Indonesia perform their team free routine. Photo: SINGSOC/

Action Images/Reuters

Football
Myanmars travelling football fans were thanked by the
U23s coach Kyi Lwin following their teams Group A 4-2
victory over 2013 silver medalists Indonesia.
They were 100 percent important today; we really
have to say a big thank you to our supporters, Kyi
Lwin said after the game played late June 2.
Left-winger Si Thu Aung scored a brace with goals in
the 38th and 54th minutes, while Shine Thura and Kyaw
Zin Lwin also placed their name on the scoresheet.
The only down point of the night was Myanmar allowing the Young Garuda to come back with two late
consolation goals.
After the final whistle, the fans again received praise
on social media for collecting their rubbish as they
went.
In Group B, Vietnam sent a message to their competitors, thrashing Malaysia 51 after they had already beat Brunei 6-1 in their opening match of the
tournament.
Malaysian playmaker Nazmi Faiz became the first
athlete to book a plane home after he was banned for
six games for spitting at an opposition player in the
teams game against Timor Leste.
I really regret what happened, Nazmi said in a
posting on the Twitter feed of the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia.
There are no excuses and I accept my punishment.
I would like to apologise to all Malaysians. I didnt
mean to let the country down. Matt Roebuck

Myanmar goes top of Group A with their victory

over Indonesia. Photo: SINGSOC/Andrew Ho

Tren Nhat Nguyen of Vietnam (right) beats Wei Wen Lim in the final of the Mens Individual Epe. Photo: SINGSOC/Action Images/Reuters

Results Day -2

MEDAL TABLE
Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

SINGAPORE

11

VIETNAM

THAILAND

Selected Results

MALAYSIA

Fencing:

PHILIPPINES

INDONESIA

BRUNEI

CAMBODIA

LAOS

MYANMAR

TIMOR LESTE

Myanmar Medallists
none

Netball:

none

Mens Individual Epe Round of 16

Zaw Thet (MYA) lost 15-10 vs Phuoc Den Nguyen (VIE)
Mens Individual Epe Final
Tren Nhat Nguyen (VIE) won 15-8 vs Wie Wien Lim (SIN)
Womens Individual Foil Round of 16
May Tinzar Kyaw (MYA) lost 15-13 vs to Justine Trinio (PHI)
Womens Individual Foil Final
Justine Trinio (PHI) 7-15 vs Wenying Yang (SIN)
Round Robin stage
Myanmar lost 26-71 vs Thailand
Brunei lost 24-82 vs Malaysia

none

FIFA
U20
WORLD CUP

*results as of June 3

GROUP A

GROUP A

usa (Q)

P GF GD Pts
2
6 +5 6

ukraine

+6

new Zealand

-4

Myanmar

-7

GROUP B
ghana

P GF GD Pts
2
4 +1 4
2

+1

argentina

-1

panama

-1

portugal (Q)

P GF GD Pts
2
7 +7 6

colombia

+1

senegal

-3

Qatar

-5

GROUP D

New Zealand

serbia
Mali

uruguay

Mexico

-1

hungary

P GF GD Pts
1
5 +4 3

Brazil

+2

nigeria

-2

north korea

-4

Ukraine

Argentina

USA

Myanmar

Ghana

Myanmar

Ukraine

New Zealand

USA

Austria

Argentina

Austria

New Zealand

Panama

USA

Qatar
Portugal

Colombia

Mexico

Senegal

Uruguay

Qatar
Senegal
Senegal

Portugal

Mexico

Colombia

P GF GD Pts
1
8 +7 3

honduras

+1

uzbekistan

-1

Fiji

-7

* all game times are in local time zone

Serbia

Ghana

Argentina

Ghana

Colombia

Mali

Serbia

Uruguay

Mali

june 6, 4pM, dunedin

Qatar

Serbia

Mexico

june 6, 4pM, haMilton

Portugal

Mali

GROUP E

Uruguay

GROUP F
june 1, 1pM, neW plyMouth

Nigeria

Brazil

june 1, 1pM, christchurch

june 1, 4pM, neW plyMouth

North Korea

Hungary

june 4, 4pM, neW plyMouth

North Korea

june 4, 7pM, neW plyMouth

germany

june 3, 7pM, dunedin

May 31, 1pM, dunedin

june 3, 4pM, dunedin

june 6, 1pM, haMilton

Panama

May 31, 4pM, dunedin

june 3, 4pM, haMilton

May 31, 1pM, dunedin

May 31, 4pM, haMilton

GROUP D
May 31, 1pM, haMilton

Austria

june 5, 4pM, auckla nd

GROUP C
0

june 5, 4pM, Wellington

june 5, 7pM, auckland

Ukraine

june 2, 7pM, Wellington

june 5, 7pM, Wellington

Myanmar

Panama

june 2, 4pM, Wellington

june 2, 1pM, Whangarei

May 30, 7pM, Wellington

May 30, 4pM, Whangarei

Nigeria

GROUP F

june 3, 7pM, haMilton

P GF GD Pts
2
2 +1 3

GROUP E

May 30, 4pM, Wellington

May 30, 1pM, auckland

june 2, 7pM, auckland

austria

GROUP C

GROUP B

Hungary

Brazil

june 7, 5pM, neW plyMouth

Hungary

Nigeria

june 7, 5pM, christchurch

Brazil

North Korea

Germany

Fiji

june 1, 4pM, christchurch

Uzbekistan

Honduras

june 4, 4pM, christchurch

Honduras

Fiji

june 4, 7pM, christchurch

Germany

Uzbekistan

june 7, 5pM, christchurch

Honduras

Germany

june 4, 5pM, Whangarei

Fiji

Uzbekistan

Sport
28 THE MYANMAR TIMES junE 4, 2015

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

SEA Games coverage

SPORT 26

FOOTball

Sepp stands down soon

IFA president Sepp Blatter

has resigned in a stunning
capitulation to exultant critics
as a US investigation reportedly draws closer to ensnaring
the most powerful man in world sport.
The Swiss official, who has ruled
footballs governing body for 17 years,
said June 2 he would remain in charge
until a special congress can choose
a new leader and vowed to pursue
strong reforms in that time.
Blatter noted that he had just won reelection from FIFA members on May 29,
but said, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football.
Some of Blatters opponents rejoiced at his announcement while
commercial sponsors urged FIFA to
clean up its act and regain public trust.
Why didnt he step down last
week? Clearly theres a smoking gun of
some sort, English Football Association chief Greg Dyke said.
Hes not been honourable in years.
Now hes gone lets celebrate.
UEFA head Michel Platini, a former
ally who last week told Blatter to his
face that he should leave, said, It was
a difficult decision, a brave decision
and the right decision.
Brazilian legend Pele called for
honest people to clean up the game,
while New Zealand Football made it
clear that Blatter was not welcome at
the Under-20 World Cup currently being held there.
These allegations are hotting up.
Theyre getting closer and closer to
him, NZF chief executive Andy Martin said.
The New York Times, which broke
news of the corruption investigation,
reported the 79-year-old was also the
focus of an FBI probe, citing law enforcement officials and other sources.
ABC News also said Blatter was the
subject of an investigation, which it
said was part of the larger probe that
led to the arrest of seven FIFA officials
in a luxury Swiss hotel.
That unleashed a global storm

The controversial head of world football announced his decision to step down once a new president is elected. Photo: AFP

which Blatter tried to weather by defiantly ploughing on when he secured a

fifth term with backing from Asia and
Africa.
But speaking impassively at FIFA
headquarters in Zurich, Blatter said it
was clear not everyone was on his side
in the footballing fraternity including
the fans, the players, the clubs, the
people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.
I felt compelled to stand for reelection, as I believed that this was the
best thing for the organisation, Blatter told a news conference.
That election is over but FIFAs
challenges are not. FIFA needs a profound overhaul, he said, vowing farreaching, fundamental reforms in his
remaining time in office.
A special congress to choose

Blatters replacement cannot be held

until between December 2015 and
March 2016, according to Domenico
Scala, chair of FIFAs independent audit and compliance committee.
The seven people detained on May
27 are among 14 football officials and
sports marketing executives accused
by US prosecutors of complicity in
giving or receiving more than US$150
million in bribes.
The dawn arrests, and a police raid
on FIFA headquarters, were accompanied by the launch of a Swiss investigation into the awarding of the 2018
and 2022 World Cup tournaments to
Russia and Qatar.
The US probe is also looking at a
$10 million payment made by FIFA to
South Africa, host of the 2010 tournament, which was reportedly approved

by Blatters top lieutenant.

Blatter has repeatedly pleaded his
innocence and that of FIFA.
Qatar has also strongly denied any
wrongdoing in its bid for 2022 but one
senior Qatari official, a FIFA vice president, was banned for life amid accusations that he gave bribes.
If I was in Qatar I wouldnt be
very confident, said Dyke, who was
involved in Englands unsuccessful bid
to stage the 2018 edition.
Acting CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit who last week replaced former chief Jeffrey Webb, one of those
charged in the United States and arrested in Switzerland said his organisation was ready to help rebuild FIFA.
That was echoed by the AFC in
Asia, whose members comprise the
third-biggest voting bloc for the FIFA

leadership, behind Africa and Europe.

Jordans Prince Ali bin al Hussein,
who challenged Blatter in last weeks
vote, signalled that he would run
again.
If somebodys going to beat Prince
Ali then theyre going to have to be
very good, said New Zealands Martin.
South Koreas Chung Mong-Joon, a
former FIFA vice president and powerbroker of Asian football, said yesterday he was considering a bid. Chung,
a billionaire scion of Koreas Hyundai
group FIFAs official automotive
partner since 2010 was a long-time
critic of Blatter and had hinted at a
challenge for the presidency before
losing his own position on the FIFA
executive board to Prince Ali in 2011.
Addressing a press conference in
Seoul, Chung said he would decide on
whether to run after meeting with
prominent figures in international football and listening to their opinions.
Brazilian football great Zico announced his intention to stand on his
Facebook page.
Why not? he said. My life has
always been in football. Its a passion
that I have always treated seriously
and with respect in Brazil and other
countries.
I think football comes before politics, he added. I dont have support
yet, but if its open, I can become a candidate. Its still an idea. Who knows?
Other potential replacements
mooted include Platini and Portuguese football great Luis Figo.
Among key sponsors, Coca-Cola
called the move a positive step for the
good of sport, football and its fans.
South Korean auto group Hyundai-Kia urged FIFA now to create a
governance structure that ensures
the highest ethical standards for the
sport.
Credit card giant Visa, which had
warned it might withdraw its sponsorship, said Blatters resignation was a
significant first step but added, More
work lies ahead. AFP